Senate Fight Ahead for START

United States Senate

After the release of the Nuclear Posture Review, the signing of the START treaty and the recent Nuclear Security Summit, many US senators still have questions regarding the plans the administration has with missile defense.  Many Republicans are weary that without these questions answered ratification of START may be difficult.

Of all President Barack Obama’s nuclear arms reduction initiatives — including his world without nuclear weapons and a test ban treaty — negotiating and ratifying an updated Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia was seen as the easiest step.

But in a congressional session so poisonous that even a jobs bill was in doubt at a time of soaring unemployment, securing the two-thirds vote of the Senate necessary to ratify the treaty is no sure thing.

In Nuclear Summit, Obama Seeks Global Help in Sanctioning Iran

President Obama Hosts the Nuclear Security Summit

President Obama used an unprecedented summit on nuclear terrorism Monday to press global leaders to support further isolating Iran for its nuclear activities, and the White House said that China’s leader had agreed to cooperate with tightening U.N. sanctions on the Islamic republic.

The Nuclear Security Summit is the first large meeting of world leaders focused on how to keep nuclear materials away from terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. The event drew 36 heads of state and delegations from 10 other countries to the city, which became a blur of flashing police lights and speeding black convoys.

Lee Stresses N. Korea’s Nuclear Threats in Global Summit

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took advantage of the Nuclear Security Summit to inform the other countries present about the danger and threats with North Korea. Lee stated South Korea is “more concerned about nuclear weapons threats than any other nation as it is directly exposed to North Korea’s nuclear threats.”  Lee also added that South Korea and the U.S. maintains a “very perfect and strong alliance than any other time.”

The largest-ever gathering of world leaders on nuclear security opened here Monday night, as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak used the first-day session to emphasize the “direct nuclear threats” from communist neighbor North Korea.

During the 90-minute dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama for fellow leaders, Lee said South Korea is “more concerned about nuclear weapons threats than any other nation as it is directly exposed to North Korea’s nuclear threats,” according to Lee’s office, Cheong Wa Dae.

Obama Calls for Joint Action to Safeguard Nuclear Stocks

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev and President Obama

President Obama called on world leaders “not simply to talk, but to act” to secure or destroy vulnerable stockpiles of nuclear materials. Obama told fellow leaders Tuesday morning that it was time “not simply to make pledges, but to make real progress for the security of our people.”

Saying that the prospect of nuclear terrorism had emerged as one of the greatest threats to global security, President Obama called on world leaders “not simply to talk, but to act” to secure or destroy vulnerable stockpiles of nuclear materials.

Mr. Obama, addressing a plenary session Tuesday of the 47-nation nuclear security conference he had convened here, told fellow leaders Tuesday morning that it was time “not simply to make pledges, but to make real progress for the security of our people,” according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released by the White House. “All this, in turn, requires something else, something more fundamental,” Mr. Obama continued in his remarks. “It requires a new mindset — that we summon the will, as nations, as partners, to do what this moment in history demands.”

Medvedev to Visit U.S. this Summer: White House

The White House announced that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit this summer.  This visit shows the improving relations that the United States has created with Russia, particularly after the signing of START.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit the United States in the summer to discuss a range of issues including economic cooperation, the White House said at a Russia-U.S. summit in Prague Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Medvedev signed a new arms reduction treaty in Prague, and Obama said relations between the two countries were improving after an earlier drift.