nuclear energy

Every US president is obliged to review its nuclear policy at least once during his occupation of office. The current incumbent, President Obama, presented his 2,200 page policy changes titled Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) on April 6, 2010. 
The salient features of his review comprise: top priority to fighting terrorism and proliferation vis-à-vis responding to a nuclear attack; promising not to use atomic weapons against non-nuclear states but issuing a stern warning for countries that ignore global non-proliferation rules; reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the US security strategy; expanding conventional capabilities, relying on existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons for deterrence against nuclear powers like Russia and China; and focusing on preventing terrorists and rogue states from acquiring such weapons.
Prima facie these are sound suggestions but the review must be examined in light of other contemporary developments. On April 8, the US president and his Russian counterpart, Medvedev, signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) at Prague. Under the Treaty, each side within seven years would be barred from deploying more than 1,550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers, without the compulsion of eliminating the “surplus” weapons. Result-antly, even with the planned reductions there will be enough firepower on each side to devastate the world many times over.
Amidst the backslapping and self-praise, the subject of Iran’s nuclear programme remained prominent. Medvedev obliquely spelt out Russia’s support for UN sanctions on Iran by stating that Tehran’s “intransigence” cannot be ignored. A third development is the two-day Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) with 47 heads of state and government in Washington on April 12 and 13. The focus of the unprecedented meeting was on: how to safeguard nuclear materials from terrorists. Pakistan was led by the head of its Nuclear Command Authority, PM Yousuf Raza Gilani. 
Coming back to the NPR, which promises not to use atomic weapons against non-nuclear states but issues a stern warning for countries that ignore global non-proliferation rules, Defence Secretary Gates has noted that there is no such commitment regarding Iran and North Korea. Tehran has reacted sharply to the US targeting the duo and threatening the use of nuclear weapons against them. Leading the charge, President Ahm-adinejad has accused Obama of being more war-mongering than Bush. In a televised speech, the Iranian president derided Obama, depicting him as an ine-ffective leader influenced by Israel to target Iran more aggressively.