Defense Games, Arms Races: Not What You Think

Byline: Kim R. Holmes, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

It's an alluring idea: If the United States disarms or restrains its military forces, other countries would do the same. The notion is gaining ground in the Obama administration; it needs very careful scrutiny.

The president's thinking about nuclear disarmament is grounded in this idea. In laying out his vision of a nuclear-weapons-free world, Mr. Obama asserted that as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this endeavor [to rid the world of nuclear weapons] alone, but we can lead it.

Let's ignore the question of whether a nuclear-free world is achievable. The president clearly sees America's nuclear arsenal as a central part of the problem. He puts America squarely in the nuclear disarmament dock and …

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Publication information: Article title: Defense Games, Arms Races: Not What You Think. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: August 6, 2009. Page number: A04. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

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