Major International Success For President Obama
First health care……now one of the president’s signature foreign policy objectives.
What was all the lame talk about regarding President Obama having too much on his plate? THIS President can chew gum and walk at the same time!
Ending a year of sometimes topsy-turvy negotiations, Mr. Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia sealed the deal in a morning telephone call, confirming resolution of the last outstanding details. They then announced they will fly to Prague to sign the treaty on April 8 in a ceremony designed to showcase improved relations between the two countries.
“With this agreement, the United States and Russia, the two largest nuclear powers in the world, also send a clear signal that we intend to lead,” Mr. Obama said, appearing in front of reporters at the White House to announce the agreement. “By upholding our own commitments under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities.”
In Moscow, the Kremlin hailed the accord.
“The presidents agreed that the new treaty marks a higher level of cooperation between Russia and the United States in the development of new strategic relations,” a Kremlin statement said.The new treaty will reduce the binding limit on deployed strategic nuclear warheads by more than one-quarter, and on launchers by half. It will reestablish an inspection and verification regime, replacing one that expired in December. But while the pact recognizes the dispute between the two countries over American plans for missile defense based in Europe, it will not restrict the United States from building such a shield.
Instead, the two sides each drafted separate nonbinding statements reiterating their positions on missile defense. Russia warned in its statement that it reserved the right to withdraw from the new treaty if it decided that American missile defense plans were developing in a way that threatened its security. The United States asserted in its statement that it would develop missile defense as it saw fit, but offered assurance that the program was not aimed at Russia nor at undermining the security balance between the two countries.
The Kremlin statement on Friday suggested that Russia would continue to push for a formal missile defense treaty.
So it was fine to condemn Barack Obama for going to the church of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who said a couple of controversial things. But no one says a word about all the politicians who fail to condemn the Pope, who covered-up for sex crimes, an act that is itself a crime. Indeed, how many Catholic politicians were in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City to hear Archbishop Timothy Dolan defend Pope Benedict and compare his suffering to Christ’s? Maybe black weighs more than white on the scales of outrage.
I very much agree with Dale. The harder line that President Bush (41) was trying to take should have never ended. While President Clinton was smart and thought deeply about Middle East policy there is nothing to be gained with allowing the tail to wag the dog. That is what happens all the time when Israel thinks they are in drivers seat when it comes to making American foreign policy. This time Israel bit off more than that can chew and I for one am glad to see them choking on it. There was the start of new talks in the air and then Israel drops the settlement issue while Biden is visiting. Lets be frank. There is no way to pick up a piece of crap by the clean end, and no matter now Isreal tries to peddle this mess it will not sell in the Obama White House.
I agree with Deke on this achievement. Obama and Clinton are solid on all the foreign policy issues to date.
Chavez is worried about US presence and training in Colombia. North Korea is knocked back on its heels and is no longer dealing the hand anymore. We are finally doing something about Afghanistan. Obama is determined that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have no safe haven..even in Pakistan. More terrorists have been captured or killed by Obama in one year than Bush did in five years.We stopped the US from paying for a missile defense of Europe and achieved a nuclear arms reduction to boot.
Top notch foreign policy work in my book. I don’t know how much is Gates, Clinton, or Obama but I like this team.
I disagree. I don’t see this as a Netanyahu issue but more of a slap at the Israeli hardliners. There was no respect for the VP of the US with the announcemnt and this cannot be acceptable. There was no respect for the Palestinian-Israeli discussions that were taking place when this announcement of East Jerusalem settlements was made.
Judge Israel by its actions not by its words. They snubbed Biden. They do not respect Hillary or Obama either. They will regret the approach they are taking now. There is tenacity and vitriol in Clinton and Obama can obtain cold revenge when he is pushed too far.
The Israelis mis-played this hand for certain.
The 20+ years Obama spent listening to “Rev.” Wright’s anti-Semite screeds have obviously had an effect on Obama’s perceptions.
We can all be a little thankful that Wright didn’t hate the Russians as much as he hates America and the Jews.
Yes; this is an accomplishment of sorts. It’s not, given the economic times and the extreme expense of maintaining nuclear weaponry, as much of one as it would have been a few years ago, since it probably required comparably little in the way of negotiating skills.
Still, a 1/3 reduction in US and Russian nuclear stockpiles is overdue and a good thing.
Kudos to Obama for not ignoring the opportunity or flubbing it up.
Well at least he didn’t treat the Russians anywhere near the way he smacked and disrespected Netanyahu earlier this week.