[The
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.]
Die Welt, Germany
Obama's
'Erroneous' Comments on Nukes
"Who is willing to guarantee
that some particularly dubious corner of a nuclear disarmed world won't seek to
'exit from the exit?' The near-nuclear power of Syria and the hunger-struck
state of North Korea, which is armed to the teeth, have demonstrated that such
programs can be organized quite discreetly."
By Political Editor Ansgar Graw
Translated By Jonathan Lobsien
April 5, 2009
Germany - Die
Welt - Original Article (German)
Barack Obama erred in his call
for a nuclear weapons free world. This is one demand that could be very
dangerous.
The president is right - and
the president is mistaken. In his Prague address [watch below], Barack Obama
correctly referred to the danger of the new nuclear arms race and the growing
risk of nuclear weapons deployment. But his demand that therefore we should
pursue a nuclear weapons free world is erroneous. The applause - even from
[Chancellor] Angela Merkel and [Foreign Minister] Frank-Walter Steinmeier -
only served to reinforce an illusion that would not lead to a better world, but
a more dangerous one.
To be sure (at
least in theory) it's possible that all of the world's nuclear warheads could
be scrapped, but the know-how for producing them cannot be. And Obama’s offer to
expand access to the peaceful use of nuclear technology underscores this fact.
Because the path from civilian to military nuclear fission is a short one. Who
is willing to guarantee that some particularly dubious corner of a nuclear
disarmed world won't seek to "exit from the exit?" The near-nuclear
power of Syria and the hunger-struck state of North Korea, which is armed to
the teeth, have demonstrated that such programs can be organized quite
discreetly.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
President
Obama speaks in Prague's Hradcany Square,
Czech
Republic. The president called for more aggressive efforts to rid
the world of nuclear weapons, April 4. WATCH 
THE RELINQUISHMENT OF THE
ATOM BOMB
The world would also be
rendered more dangerous if the Bomb were renounced, because the
political logic that prevented its use after Hiroshima and Nagasaki would, with
its elimination, boost the appeal of conventional arms. When deterrence wanes,
there is a growing willingness to engage in armed conflict with tanks, bombers
and infantry - or even with biological and chemical weapons.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
'Prague Spring … Pyongyang Frost'
Die Welt, Germany:
Obama's 'Erroneous' Comments on Nukes
Gazeta, Russia:
Obama and Medvedev: Good Mood Music that Skirted the Central Issues
Le Figaro, France:
President Obama: 'What a Change for the Alliance!'
Der Spiegel, Germany:
'Yankee Bombs Go Home':
Foreign Minister Wants U.S. Nukes Off German Soil
Nevertheless, the fact that
Obama refers to the danger of nuclear weapons proliferation is important. If,
for example, Shiite Iran developed a bomb, Sunni Saudi-Arabia would want to
catch up - and perhaps neighboring Turkey would as well. For this reason,
non-proliferation and significant reductions in existing nuclear arsenals
should be the policy objectives, but not "global zero."
"More security" is
more important than "no nuclear weapons."
CLICK
HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US April 6, 5:59pm]
