Obama to limit use of US nuclear weapons

US: President Barack Obama plans to place new restrictions on the use of atomic weapons as part of a major US nuclear policy overhaul, a senior administration official said on Monday.

In an interview with The New York Times, Obama said he would make exceptions for “outliers like Iran and North Korea,” but stress non-nuclear deterrence and eliminate Cold War ambiguities about when such weapons could be used.

Obama unveils his strategy on Tuesday, two days before signing a treaty with Russia to slash stockpiles of long-range nuclear warheads by a third, and less than a week before hosting world leaders at a key nuclear summit in Washington.

A senior administration official told AFP that the upcoming signing of the new START treaty with Russia, the summit, and the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) will see the administration “embracing a 21st century approach to nuclear weapons.”

“The NPR focuses on preventing nuclear terrorism and proliferation and reducing the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, while sustaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent for the United States and our allies,” the official added.

In order to pursue a key foreign policy aim of halting nuclear proliferation, Obama has committed the United States — the only country ever to unleash an wartime atomic bomb — to a series of nuclear arms cuts.

“Now, the Nuclear Posture Review states very clearly, if you are a non-nuclear weapons state that is compliant with the NPT, you have a negative assurance we will not be using nuclear weapons against you,” he told The Times.

“That doesn’t mean that you might not engage in some actions that are profoundly detrimental to US national security, which require action on our part,” Obama said.

“And I’m going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure.”

Washington, Tuesday , AFP