Mitt Romney on nuclear weapons

According to media reports (http://www.prioritiesnh.org/blog/?p=120 ) Gov. Romney will not reduce the US nuclear weapons stockpile due to the potential threat of Iran. On April 26, 2007 in New York (http://www.cfr.org/publication/13258/ ) he outlined a new international initiative that would make nuclear trafficking a crime against humanity, on par with genocide and war crimes. “Countries that want to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes should convene to reaffirm their commitment to non-proliferation” and the US should promote the development of an international uranium fuel bank.

Additional statement from from Mitt Romney’s web site http://www.mittromney.com/issues

The 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was meant to prevent countries from acquiring dangerous nuclear technologies and fissile materials such as plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU).

However, effective enforcement of this obligation is often lacking. Consequently, countries can ignore their obligations under the NPT with little fear of sanction or penalty. Given the unstable political and economic situation in many of these counties, there is the real possibility that these nuclear technologies, fissile materials, or even fully assembled nuclear weapons, could find their way to terrorists.

Moreover, the September 11th Commission reported that al-Qaeda had been trying to acquire or build nuclear weapons for well over a decade. Former CIA Director George Tenet said that Osama bin Laden sees the acquisition of WMD as a “religious obligation.”

In response a Romney administration will:

Expanding And Accelerating Actions To Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, which was launched last year, was a good start. Yet our efforts need to be greatly accelerated and expanded. Combating the threat of nuclear terrorism needs to be a top Presidential priority.

Empowering A Senior Ambassador To Lead Efforts To Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. We should appoint a new Ambassador-at-Large to prevent nuclear terror. He or she would have the authority and resources needed to work across government agencies and departments to ensure that our strategies both here and abroad are coordinated.