Not heading for a nuclear free world
US President Barack Obama is playing host to the leaders of 47 nations for discussions about nuclear weapons.
Obama is negotiating with Russia to reduce the two countries’ nuclear arsenals.
He presents himself as a peacemaker—breaking from the pro-war policies of George Bush. But, the reality is not so simple.
The conference has been used as yet another forum to threaten Iran with sanctions and military action.
Obama is even using talks with China to encourage it to stand with the US against Iran’s suspected development of enriched uranium.
But the rules that the US sets for its enemies are not the same as those it applies to its friends.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has snubbed the conference. He sent his deputy instead.
Netanyahu is worried that Egypt and Turkey might ask questions about Israel’s own nuclear arsenal.
Israel hides behind a “nuclear ambiguity” policy—it has never officially admitted to having the weapons or signed a non-proliferation treaty.
These are the same “crimes” that Iran has committed—yet Israel is not threatened with sanctions and bombs. At its heart, this conference is a cynical attempt to reaffirm the US as an effective world policeman.
There are enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet several times over.
But world leaders have no intention of giving up their Armageddon arsenals.
It is really about the world superpowers bringing pressure to bear on states that aren’t under their control.
The superpowers continue to make the world a more dangerous place with growing inter-imperialist rivalries and a constant striving for increased profit.
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