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By: Sarah Abdelnaby and Safiya Ghori, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Next year following the inauguration of the new administration, there is expected to be a major debate within the Capital about the future of U.S. nuclear policy for the next twenty to thirty years. Our next President will play a major role in determining the direction of this policy. The three remaining presidential candidates from the two major political parties have taken the following positions regarding nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation:
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the presumed Republican nominee, has spoken out in favor of the United States reducing the size of its nuclear arsenal. “Forty years ago, the five declared nuclear powers came together in support of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and pledged to end the arms race and move toward nuclear disarmament,” the Senator stated. “The time has come to renew that commitment. We do not need all the weapons currently in our arsenal. The United States should lead a global effort at nuclear disarmament consistent with our vital interests and the cause of peace.”
Senator McCain, however, also supported President George W. Bush’s proposal that would create a new generation of nuclear weapons in four key Senate votes between 2003 and 2005. In 2005, the Senator voted against an amendment that would prohibit the use of funds for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator; instead, the funds would be appropriated to eliminating the national debt. Also known as “bunker busters,” proponents of these nuclear weapons claim that they can penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver the nuclear warhead to a target buried deep underground. Concerns about bunker busters arise from fears of nuclear fallout and continued nuclear proliferation.
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) believes that the United States must take a global lead on reducing nuclear proliferation. She has pledged that if elected president, she will “reduce America’s nuclear stockpiles, and keep nuclear weapons and materials from falling into the hands of terrorists and hostile regimes, while maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent,” according to an interview with the Chicago Tribune. As president, Senator Clinton has also committed to strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime by reinforcing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) verification system.
In the Senate, Clinton has introduced the Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Act, which is comprehensive legislation that would raise the security standards of nuclear sites around the world and increase funding for nonproliferation programs. Additionally, she voted for restrictions against the 2005 Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator. She has recognized that the United States should continue “to reserve the right to use whatever means are necessary” to protect its interests in a time when, in the foreseeable future, nuclear weapons “remain an essential means of deterring the defending” this country and its allies. However, Clinton believes that the United States should seek to reduce and eventually eliminate the need to utilize nuclear weapons to respond to non-nuclear attacks.
Along with Senator Clinton, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) voted in favor of prohibiting funding for the 2005 Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator. In addition, Senator Obama has collaborated with prominent Republican senators to limit the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons. With Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Chuck Hagel, Obama has co-sponsored separate bills that would help keep nuclear and non-nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. “Securing nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at their source is the most direct and reliable way to prevent nuclear terrorism,” stated Obama in a press release. As president, the Senator has promised “to secure dangerous weapons and loose nuclear materials… [and] secure all loose nuclear materials around the world” in addition to seeking “deep cuts in global nuclear arsenals, strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and once more seek a world without nuclear weapons.”
While all three candidates have addressed the issue of nuclear proliferation, it is evident that the major concern is to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. We can only hope that the next president will seek to ensure the safety of all human beings in order to ensure an end to the ongoing arms race and for uniform disarmament across the globe.
LINKS:
- Muslim Public Affairs Council
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