President Barack Obama proposed reducing the American nuclear arsenal by as much as a third on Wednesday, directing the Defense Department to align the United States with what the administration says are the more credible threats of the 21st century.
The proposal outlined by Obama in a speech in Berlin includes the maintenance of a “strong and credible strategic deterrent,” and will instruct the Defense Department to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in response to non-nuclear attacks on the U.S.
“We may no longer live in fear of global annihilation, but so long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe,” Obama said. The U.S. will seek cooperation with Russia for further cuts “to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures,” he said.
