Hello
This and that to follow.
ETA: President Obama's statement from today.
President Obama today announced what the New York Times described as a "sharp shift from his predecessors", regarding the US nuclear strategy. It substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons and stop the production of new ones.
Mr. Obama described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions. To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.
Mr. Obama’s strategy is a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation’s nuclear posture for a new age in which rogue states and terrorist organizations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China.
It eliminates much of the ambiguity that has deliberately existed in American nuclear policy since the opening days of the cold war. For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack.
The announcement today is the opening shot, so to speak, of nine-nuclear-focused-days for the president. Tomorrow he'll fly to Prague to sign a new arms-control agreement with Russia on Thursday, and next week will host 47 world leaders in Washington for a summit meeting on nuclear security.
The unveiling of the new American nuclear strategy - Just like with almost any issue or decision that this president takes - sent wingnuts into their usual state of near-stroke, because "THIS KENYAN MUZLIM IZ DESTROYING US. WE LOOK WEAK! IMPEACH!!!", and did not satisfy some on the Left, because it "doesn't go far enough".
But facts are a stubborn thing, and this is the boldest foreign policy/national security world-peace-seeking decision of any president in decades. Luckily, Rachel Maddow is always there to put things in historical context and perspective, and in a brief two minutes yesterday she said almost everything that need to be said about president Obama's vision of a world free from nuke, and how this is the very first initiative that he can finally take, and was not forced on him by the previous administration.
Take it from here, Rachel (starting at the 4:30 mark):
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Here's senator Obama, August 2007, promising, wait for it...exactly what he's delivering now. At some point, i hope, that more people will see that this rare combination of Idealist/Pragmatist is moving this country many many years forward.
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And here's President Obama's statement from today:
One year ago yesterday in Prague, I outlined a comprehensive agenda to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to pursue the peace and security of a world without them. I look forward to advancing this agenda in Prague this week when I sign the new START Treaty with President Medvedev, committing the United States and Russia to substantial reductions in our nuclear arsenals.
Today, my Administration is taking a significant step forward by fulfilling another pledge that I made in Prague—to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy and focus on reducing the nuclear dangers of the 21st century, while sustaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent for the United States and our allies and partners as long as nuclear weapons exist.
The Nuclear Posture Review, led by the Department of Defense, recognizes that the greatest threat to U.S. and global security is no longer a nuclear exchange between nations, but nuclear terrorism by violent extremists and nuclear proliferation to an increasing number of states. Moreover, it recognizes that our national security and that of our allies and partners can be increasingly defended by America’s unsurpassed conventional military capabilities and strong missile defenses.
As a result, we are taking specific and concrete steps to reduce the role of nuclear weapons while preserving our military superiority, deterring aggression and safeguarding the security of the American people.
First, and for the first time, preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is now at the top of America’s nuclear agenda, which affirms the central importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We have aligned our policies and proposed major funding increases for programs to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons around the world. Our nuclear security summit next week will be an opportunity for 47 nations to commit to specific steps to pursue the goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world within four years. And next month in New York, we will work with the wider world to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime to ensure that all nations uphold their responsibilities.
Second, we are further emphasizing the importance of nations meeting their NPT and nuclear non-proliferation obligations through our declaratory policy. The United States is declaring that we will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations. This enables us to sustain our nuclear deterrent for the narrower range of contingencies in which these weapons may still play a role, while providing an additional incentive for nations to meet their NPT obligations. Those nations that fail to meet their obligations will therefore find themselves more isolated, and will recognize that the pursuit of nuclear weapons will not make them more secure.
Finally, we are fulfilling our responsibilities as a nuclear power committed to the NPT. The United States will not conduct nuclear testing and will seek ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The United States will not develop new nuclear warheads or pursue new military missions or new capabilities for nuclear weapons.
As I stated last year in Prague, so long as nuclear weapons exist, we will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal that guarantees the defense of the United States, reassures allies and partners, and deters potential adversaries. To that end, we are seeking substantial investments to improve infrastructure, strengthen science and technology, and retain the human capital we need to sustain our stockpile, while also strengthening the conventional capabilities that are an important part of our deterrent. The nuclear strategy we’re announcing today therefore reaffirms America’s unwavering commitment to the security of our allies and partners, and advances American national security.
To stop the spread of nuclear weapons, prevent nuclear terrorism, and pursue the day when these weapons do not exist, we will work aggressively to advance every element of our comprehensive agenda—to reduce arsenals, to secure vulnerable nuclear materials, and to strengthen the NPT. These are the steps toward the more secure future that America seeks, and this is the work that we are advancing today.
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Former secretaries of state and defense are attending a screening hosted by President Barack Obama on Tuesday evening of a film about nuclear dangers, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced.
Obama will host the screening of the film, "Nuclear Tipping Point," in the company of former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger as well as former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Sen. Sam Nunn, all of whom have roles in the film. Gen. Colin Powell, who also has a role, will be there, as will actor Michael Douglas, Gibbs said at his daily briefing.
The film website:
http://www.nucleartippingpoint.org/
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And here's what Britain's Independent has to say about Obama's foreign policy over the past 15 months:
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...For there has been a pattern to be discerned in his foreign policy from the day he was inaugurated as Barack Hussein Obama, drew a line under the Bush presidency and extended a hand to those who would unclench their fists. And it is a pattern that, despite a variety of apparent setbacks, remains mostly intact 15 months later. Born of a recognition that the world as it evolved after the Second World War is already in the past, it is a coherent and pragmatic approach to the global power shifts that have already begun...
...his instinct in making foreign policy reflects an appreciation of how the world looks not just from Washington, but from elsewhere...From Iran and the Middle East to Russia to China and South America, Obama has shown an acute awareness of the domestic and regional constraints on those he is dealing with, along with an almost unerring facility for pressing the right buttons...
...In some places, Obama has been unlucky. Who knows if, with an Israeli prime minister other than Netanyahu or a more united and flexible Palestinian leadership, there might have been advances in the Middle East? In others, his overtures have had a perverse effect. In abolishing the "axis of evil" and appealing direct to Iranians, Obama helped precipitate the turmoil that followed Iran's elections. He had made demonising the US more difficult.
Something similar would apply elsewhere in the region; in North Korea, even in Russia. In hostile territory, Obama has split opinion, between those who still see him as cleverer, and so more dangerous, than his predecessors, and those who are tempted to engage. But none of this negates the evidence of a single mind at work, contemplating a world where the US will be one among several major players...
...In a year of new diplomatic directions, Obama has shaken the kaleidoscope for real, and the pieces are indeed in flux. But his patience is proven, and he will allow them to settle. If there is a moment to be seized, it will be months, even years, down the line. In the meantime, let no one be blind to the scale and world-changing nature of the US project that is evolving before us.
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US Received 8.5% Return From Bailouts:
U.S. taxpayers earned an annualized 8.5 percent return from the government's bailout of 49 financial firms, underscoring efforts by the industry to speed up repayments and warrant repurchases, according to a report by SNL Financial...
...Proceeds from Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) warrant repurchases and auctions led to a surge in returns through March 30, SNL said.
So far, since the start of the program in late 2008, 64 institutions have fully repaid government aid.
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The Spring of Obama's Content
...After a brutal winter for the administration and Democrats in Congress, during which their signature issue was on a respirator, Obama and his presidency may well be turning a corner, appearing to finally be comfortable in the powerful and highly scrutinized role.
By now, Obama has been in office for just over 14 months, and it might just be an issue of timing. "It takes a year to learn how to be president," says Stephen Hess, a governance fellow at the Brookings Institution. "It’s now beginning to look like [Obama] really has learned how to take advantage of what is given to a president."
Embracing the ceremonial parts of his job, then, could just be a metaphor for a president letting his hair down. But it also might speak to Obama’s mindset at the moment. On a day like today, the president doesn’t seem as concerned with poll numbers, or the squeaking of critics angered that he’s spending too much time outside the Oval Office. With a W on his mantle (and perhaps another on the way with financial regulatory reform), Obama appears to be walking with an air of relief, even a new confidence. And maybe, even, a hope that the good weather will linger.
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Some leftover from yesterday, including a proof that the current US president can read. *
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All photos taken by Getty, except those from the WH stuff. Please don't hot-link.
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(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
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President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Malia and Sasha, with the Easter Bunny (Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Brian Mosteller) in the Green Room of the White House.. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Author J.K. Rowling reads from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" at the Easter Egg . (Official White House Photo by Drew Angerer)
The cast of the TV show "Glee" watch as fellow cast member Amber Riley sings the National Anthem at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton