Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

ing of signals within the Alliance. The most misread
of those signals within Europe may have been the
speech on the future of nuclear weapons delivered by
President Barack Obama in Prague, Czech Republic,
on April 5, 2009. The speech was certainly noteworthy
for the President’s assertion of “America’s commitment
to seek the peace <strong>and</strong> security of a world without
nuclear weapons.” What seemed to be so quickly
overlooked were the caveats that “this goal will not
be reached quickly—perhaps not in my lifetime,” <strong>and</strong>
“make no mistake. As long as these weapons exist, the
United States will maintain a safe, secure, <strong>and</strong> effective
arsenal, to deter any adversary, <strong>and</strong> guarantee the
defense of our allies.” 2
It was in the wake of this, plus other nonproliferation
<strong>and</strong> disarmament developments <strong>and</strong> initiatives,
as encouraged by a belief that elements within the
Obama administration might favor the withdrawal of
the Europe-based bombs that the renewed debate on
their future got going. The German coalition government—spurred
by the Free Democratic Party—stated
that it would pursue the withdrawal of the remaining
nuclear weapons from Germany. This received a qualified
endorsement from others, <strong>and</strong> led to Germany,
the Benelux countries, <strong>and</strong> Norway collectively calling
for an open discussion of ways of further reducing
the role of nuclear weapons in <strong>NATO</strong>. While many in
the arms control community <strong>and</strong> among disarmament
advocates applauded the opening this joint initiative
presented, others were far from complimentary. Former
<strong>NATO</strong> Secretary General Lord Robertson <strong>and</strong> former
senior Pentagon official Franklin Miller accused
Germany of lifting the lid of P<strong>and</strong>ora’s box, 3 <strong>and</strong> essentially
of wanting to throw off the burden of nuclear
deterrence but still share in its benefits.
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