President Barack Obama has ordered the rewriting of the draft new US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), amid frustration in the White House that the document fails to reflect his aspirations for a nuclear-weapons-free world and an end to "cold war thinking," according to a report in a British newspaper.
The review, drawn up by each administration, sets the doctrine justifying both the retention of nuclear weapons and the circumstances in which they might be used. It also determines more practical issues, including nuclear force readiness, targeting and war planning.
The rejected draft – described in its present form as merely a "tweaked version of George Bush's NPR" – has become the subject of a bitter tug of war between the Department of Defense, the National Security Council and a White House that is determined that it should more closely reflect Obama's Prague speech last year.
In the speech, Obama put the issue of nuclear disarmament at the center of his foreign policy.
Sharp differences of opinion on the issue of the nuclear weapons have been apparent for months within the Obama administration which has talked about disarmament as a pressing issue while going forward to build new weapons
Meanwhile, an international coalition of over 250 groups launched a campaign calling on Obama and world leaders to begin negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide.
An international planning committee made up of peace, disarmament and social justice organizations from Japan, Britain, France, Germany and the US is coordinating many events around the United Nations Nuclear nonproliferation treaty review scheduled to begin in May to show international grassroots support for nuclear disarmament, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and cutting global military spending in order to fund human needs and environmental restoration.
Days before the UN gathering, an international educational and organizing conference on peace, disarmament, social justice and environmental issue will be held at Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church and surrounding venues, with more than 1,000 people expected to attend.
