Global issues: Nuclear Proliferation - Summit Tightens Nuclear Security

The Washington Nuclear Summit has ended with a loose consensus that important progress was made, even if binding commitments were not forthccoming, on a critical issue: increasing the security of nuclear material stored around the world from theft by terrorist groups and criminal gangs. The outcome obviously has a balance sheets of positives and negatives which can be pieced together from the links below. It is worth noting that the iniative needs to be seen as part of a broader picture predicated on the announcement of the US Nuclear Posture Review (where the US would not use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them, unless they do not comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) the ‘New’ Start Treaty between the US and Russia being signed, where each committed to reducing deployed strategic warheads by 30%, and now leading up to the important review of the ailing Nuclear Proliferation Treaty in New York in May.

According to the CFR the main accomplishments of the Summit were:

1. The participation of so many countries, especially from the developing world, helps dispel the argument that this is primarily a U.S. or Western concern.
2. The summit injects important momentum toward the goal of securing all nuclear weapons-usable material within four years, which President Barack Obama announced a year ago in Prague. Besides their declarative statements, each state has signed on to specific national implementation plans to make their holdings of highly enriched uranium or separated plutonium less vulnerable to theft and trafficking. Ukraine, Chile, Mexico, and Canada also announced that they would eliminate their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
3. Though the Obama administration went to some length to make sure the focus of the summit did not stray from nuclear security to the larger nuclear nonproliferation agenda, the reality is that progress toweatrd preventing nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands helps that broader objective. Along with the recently signed follow-on START treaty reducing U.S. and Russian strategic weapons and the findings of the Nuclear Posture Review, the Obama administration has put itself in a much stronger position to argue for increased international pressure against North Korea and Iran—not to mention other potential proliferators­—to relinquish their nuclear ambitions.

The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus provides the following analysis:
“One way or another these issues - proliferation, arms control and the security of nuclear materials - are all bound together. They will be discussed again at the forthcoming review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in New York in May.

In many ways all of Mr Obama’s recent efforts - the revised US nuclear doctrine, the new Start treaty with Russia, this nuclear security conference - are all preparation for that event. The Non-Proliferation Treaty is the cornerstone of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

It is widely regarded as ailing, badly in need of repair. That is the next item on Mr Obama’s nuclear “to do” list. “

Comment
FT: Nations unite on nuclear menace
Guardian: Barack Obama’s nuclear strategy has limited scope, but real success
Council for Foreign Relations: Important Steps for Nuclear Security