March 28, 2024
Obama hosts summit on nuclear terrorism threat
WASHINGTON--A historic two-day nuclear summit was getting underway in Washington Monday, with the Obama administration stressing the urgency of the threat of nuclear terrorism and residents of the nation's capital bracing for potentially massive traffic disruptions due to motorcades, street closures and security checkpoints.

Even as President Obama met Sunday with a succession of global leaders to discuss better control of nuclear materials, his administration highlighted a seemingly dissimilar message: The U.S. nuclear arsenal remains as strong as ever.

While Obama entertained foreign leaders at Blair House, shaking hands, bowing politely and posing for pictures, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave interviews meant to reassert the nation's military strength. They indicated that the United States would spend $5 billion this year to modernize its existing nuclear weapons, which they said could be used if the country's security is in danger or in response to the threat of a biological attack.

"We'll be, you know, stronger than anybody in the world, as we always have been, with more nuclear weapons than are needed many times over," Clinton said on ABC's "This Week."

It was a somewhat surprising launch into the summit. Forty-six world leaders or their representatives are meeting to discuss the threat posed by the world's unsecured stocks of nuclear materials. The event will test Obama's diplomacy and his ability to strike a delicate balance. Progress in securing nuclear materials will enable him to gain international momentum toward the reduction in nuclear weapons he seeks, but at the same time he must reassure defense hawks that U.S. security will not be compromised. (Source: Washington Post)
Story Date: April 13, 2010
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