Putting Obama’s Nuclear Policy to the Test

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize flew in from outer space. Now the pressure is on. Many groups are now pressuring Obama to take substantial steps towards creating a nuclear-free world, so that the Peace Prize will not have been granted in vain.

It’s easier said than done. The former United Nations weapons inspector David Albright remarked, “It’s a long-term goal and a long voyage over a pretty big ocean of nuclear disarmament,” adding that Obama is “trying to turn a big ship so it can become an important part of U.S. policy.”

In bestowing the award upon Obama, the Nobel committee emphasized that he has moved nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament to the top of the global agenda. Albright argues that at this point an important test for Obama is whether or not he can convince Congress to ratify the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) or the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). But many worry that he can’t get the votes.

The Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty came into being in 1996. One hundred and eighty-one nations have already signed onto the treaty, but only 149 have ratified it in their own countries. Because the United States is not among those 149, the treaty has been ineffective. FMCT hasn’t even moved beyond the negotiation stage.

During the two weeks prior to receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama became the first American president to preside over discussions at the U.N. Security Council. At that time he spoke at length in an effort to encourage all nations to support nuclear nonproliferation. And this is more than just talk. He unilaterally renounced the Bush administration’s plans for constructing a missile defense shield in the Middle East, a policy that had brought fierce opposition from Russia. Instead, Obama wishes to sign a new nuclear nonproliferation treaty with Russia, a treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) of 1991. The two nations will likely pass this new treaty in December of this year.

The Obama administration is thinking of using the Nobel Peace Prize as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with Iran and North Korea, in order to induce these nations to halt nuclear weapons production. If Obama cannot get the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty through Congress, it will make it that much harder for him to persuade the rest of the world to freeze nuclear weapons production. If he is unable to press Iran into halting production, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a nuclear arms race. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have all suggested that if Iran has nuclear weapons, then they, too, will want to develop their own arsenals in self-protection.

This is enough to keep Obama busy for now. But, as he himself said upon receiving the award, the Nobel Peace Prize is a “call to action.”