THE next Washington administration could bring a historic US commitment to "serious nuclear disarmament", Gareth Evans, Australia's co-chairman of a new international nuclear disarmament commission, said yesterday. Mr Evans said the world faced major proliferation challenges - the leakage of weapons material from the increasing adoption of civilian nuclear energy, terrorism, and nuclear weapons states standing outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty regime - but also a large opportunity from US politics.
He cited a changed atmosphere in Washington, led by a bipartisan alliance on disarmament of former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, former defence secretary William Perry and former Senate armed service committee chairman Sam Nunn.
"(They are) making over the past two years a hard-headed, realistic case for the first time in US history for serious nuclear disarmament and the prospect that will flow through into the new US administration - particularly Obama but also a McCain administration." More >>>
