Obama: "America (Seeks) a World Without Nuclear Weapons" But...

Barack Obama drew cheers from an estimated 30,000 Czechs as he declared
Sunday that, "I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment
to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama's restatement of his administration's commitment to negotiate
a fresh arms reduction treaty with Russia was greeted with enthusiasm
in Prague, as was his pledge to work to convince countries around the
world to abandon nuclear weapons as a means of security and aggression.

"As the only nuclear power who have used a nuclear weapon, the
United States has a moral responsibility to act," explained Obama, in a
speech broke, at least rhetorically, from the Bush administration's
hardline stances with regard to nuclear issues. "We cannot succeed in
this endeavor alone, but we can start it."

Unfortunately, the president put a damper on the celebration when he
revealed a slow timeline. "This goal will not be reached quickly --
perhaps not in my lifetime," Obama explained. "It will take patience
and persistence. But now we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us
that the world cannot change."

And the president pretty much ended the party with his announcement
that that the United States would "go forward" with a central-European
missile defense system that has sparked intense opposition in the Czech
Republic and Poland.

Obama claimed that the system is designed to protect Europe from an
attack by Iran. "As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go
forward with the missile system," the president claimed. "If the
Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for
security, and the driving force for missile construction in Europe will
be removed."

But that line did not go over particularly well in Prague, where
polls suggest that roughly 70 percent of Czech citizens oppose the
missile shield project, key components of which would be positioned in
the republic.

The Czech parliament has refused to ratify and agreement for siting the missile shield radar tracking system outside Prague.

As Obama spoke, crowds of anti-shield protesters, clad in white hazardous-material protection suits, demonstrated nearby.

From the U.S. came a mixed review of the Obama speech by Kevin
Martin, executive director of Peace Action, the peace and disarmament
organization that traces its roots to the old Committee for a SANE
Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Freeze movement of the 1980s.

"President Obama's Prague speech was important in terms of
re-asserting U.S. leadership on nuclear disarmament issues. U.S. Senate
ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, negotiations on an
arms reduction treaty with Russia, pursuit of a treaty to ban fissile
materials and strengthened non-proliferation policies are all crucial
to progress towards a nuclear-weapons free world," said Martin.

But, he added, "President Obama's statement that such a world might
not be achieved in his lifetime is very disappointing. Obama can and
should announce the initiation of negotiations on the global
elimination of nuclear weapons. Similarly, his promotion of nuclear
power, missile defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic and his
escalation of troops in Afghanistan are all moves in the wrong
direction."