The Defense Secretary Robert Gates has given his endorsement for Obama’s plans to have a nuclear free world. However Gates gave his endorsemnt with a caveat. Gates stated that it is a long road to attain a non nuclear world. He continued to inform the public that, “President Obama is the fourth president that I have worked for who has said publicly he would like to see an end to nuclear weapons and a nuclear weapons-free world. I think that’s a laudable objective.” With this statement was the caution that this is a goal which can only be attained through small incremental steps. Disarmament is not something that can be accomplished over night.
One criticism that I have of Obama is that I do believe he has oversimplified the denuclearization process. With his charismatic nature he has done well to convince the public that a nuclear free world is being built. However he has done little to give a realistic timetable for such an accomplishment. In all reality, Obama is building the starting blocks for a nuclear free world. However it is likely that we will not see it happen in our lifetimes. If such a blessed event were to happen, it will not occur for years to come. Such a change has to take place on localized levels first which each government coming around before it can become a global agreement between all nations.
Do you believe that it is ever possible to attain a nuclear free world? Honestly are we dreaming slightly too great? What steps can we take to get there in our lifetime?
