Obama has just said some striking things about US nuclear weapons policy in his first speech as US president to the UN general assembly.
On the section on the atomic age: He said:
We will complete a Nuclear Posture Review that opens the door to deeper cuts, and reduces the role of nuclear weapons.
On Monday, The Guardian reported that Obama had rejected a first Pentagon draft of the Nuclear Posture Review, due to be completed by the end of the year, because the defence department had not been radical enough in envisaging the possible cuts in the arsenal, and in terms of nuclear doctrine. He wanted options that diminished the role of nuclear weapons in American security.
The president still has a fight on his hands with the Pentagon and eventually Congress over the posture review, but he has just given the world his pledge that he will win that fight.
He also pledged that he will win the struggle in the Senate to get the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ratified.
These are strong words.
