Dear Friends –

I have listened to many speeches by political figures over the years; and I have followed rivers of politics and promises. I think you’ll understand when I say I’ve grown wary and even cynical about the processes that bring us budgets and laws and policies.

I hope you’ll understand that today, I am more hopeful than I have ever been that we may one day see the abolition of nuclear weapons.

I’m referring to President Obama’s speech in Prague on Sunday (April 5). The speech itself was articulate, practical, idealistic. But more importantly: he was signaling a fundamentally profound shift in U.S. policy on nuclear weapons. In one swift move, he outlined a plan for moving us to an entirely new territory; for advancing a genuine plan to eliminate the threat of the nuclear shadow.

And then he went out to outline a plan of simple, decisive steps to get us to a new world. To pursue "concrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons." Simply, it was thrilling to hear these words.

For years, the arms control and peace and security communities have been raising the cry that we must act, and now, to control the threat of nuclear weapons; that it’s only a matter of time before someone, somewhere, uses one. The enormous loss of life would be tragic – and the burden of guilt would be on those who could have prevented it.

Finally, we have a leader who understands that we can, and we must, take steps to prevent it.

I welcome this new day, this promise for a more secure, more peaceful future for all of us -- and our children and grandchildren. As we approach Mother's Day next month, I remember the words of Julia Ward Howe and believe she, too, would be pleased.

Thank you for all you do, every day, to build a more peaceful world.

--Susan Shaer, WAND Executive Director

The plan that he laid out includes these steps:

• Reduce the stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Russia. "We will negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the Russians this year."
  Since the end of the Cold War, the two superpowers have continued to maintain huge arsenals of nukes; it’s estimated the U.S. has at least 2200 “strategic” nukes deployed, while Russia has 2-3000.
  START provides a legally-binding basis for substantial, verified reductions in the U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals. (For more, see www.armscontrolcenter.org.)
• End nuclear bomb tests. He promised to "immediately and aggressively pursue ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty” (CTBT).
  The treaty would prevent nuclear states from testing newer, “better” bombs; and would slow the spread of nuclear weapon technology to other states. The treaty has widespread support: already signed by 180 nations and ratified by 148 (including all NATO countries), it is endorsed by public opinion (87%) and such luminaries as the so-called “four horsemen” (former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Senator Sam Nunn (GA)).
  It is up to the U.S. Senate to ratify this treaty. (For more, see the WAND fact sheet.)
• End the production of "fissile materials." It’s an enormous task to build a nuclear weapon; and you need certain materials that are not easy to create or obtain. Fissile materials are those elements that create “fission” – causing the nuclear blast.
  "To cut off the building blocks needed for a bomb, the United States will seek a new treaty that verifiably ends the production of fissile materials intended for use in state nuclear weapons."
• Do more to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. "We will strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a basis for cooperation."
  "Countries with nuclear weapons will move towards disarmament, countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them."
• Control nuclear materials to prevent nuclear terrorism. The U.S. will lead a "new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years... We will set new standards, expand our cooperation with Russia, pursue new partnerships to lock down these sensitive materials... Because this threat will be lasting, we should come together to turn efforts such as the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism into durable international institutions. And we should start by having a Global Summit on Nuclear Security that the United States will host within the next year."