Today, in the Czech capital Prague, US President Obama and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty. The two countries have agreed to new procedures to verify which weapons each country possesses. and they have agreed to reduce their strategic offensive nuclear arsenal by one third. Yes, by one third. Both nations will still have enough weapons left to blow each other up, and everybody else along with them, several times over. Still it is always good to see nuclear powers sit down and agree on something. The new treaty also is an effort to help stop the spread of nuclear weapons around the world.
"Arms control advocates have expressed disappointment in the treaty, saying it does not go far enough in reducing the dangerous weapons on both sides. Some conservatives have raised questions about the treaty's impact on the American nuclear deterrent. But experts from the right and the left agree the treaty extends a verification plan that has allowed the world's two nuclear giants to maintain stability that has existed for the past 20 years." (Washington Post)
The U.S. Senate will have to ratify the treaty. The Obama Administration is trying to get the treaty ratified by the end of 2010. U.S. government officials said the full treaty document will be posted on the Internet later today.
News Source: The Washington Post