Rethinking America's Nuclear Policy

An article published in the New York Times of February 28, 2010, pointed out that a review is underway of the Nuclear Policy of the United States. The world's most powerful country, reviewing and rethinking its nuclear policy & strategy is indeed news to watch out for.

We live in one of the most difficult times in history. The world may have walked away from the power struggles that defined our way of life and thought before the 1990s, but the threats that plagued world peace still continue to exist albeit in different forms.

Today, when we evaluate the global issues, we realise that the threat of a nuclear war between two legitimate states is the most least of them all. The threat of nuclear weapons continues, but the actors have changed. Fears that state actors may use nuclear weapons to settle scores has diminished apart from a few stark cases. The real fear today is the use of nuclear weaponry by non-state actors.

However, having said that, it cannot be denied that, United States has its own perceptions threats and risk assessments. It does not necessarily look at these risks the way in which the rest of the world looks at it. If that was the case Iraq would not have been attacked. Whereas the world did not assume a risk perception arising out of the Saddam Hussein, the United States had a different reading. Bolstered by the power of its media, and its position as the only remaining legitimate superpower in the world, the United States took upon itself the act of cleaning up Iraq of the so-called weapons of mass destruction. Less than a decade later, with millions of dead, the United States walked away from the war theatre without much reprimand.

Undoubted, the United States President, during the course of his review must take into consideration all what his men have to say about the threat perceptions that today's America faces. His first and primary duty is towards the American people. However, the Nobel Peace Laureate will also do well to review the status of the world. It is important for him to keep in mind that he is the custodian of a faith that many people across the world shared with him since he first traversed the journey into Presidency.