President Obama outlines vision for nuclear-free world
All eyes were on Prague on Sunday morning with US President Barack Obama giving a keynote speech just outside Prague Castle – his only public address on his first European tour since becoming president.
“I’m really happy to be here today: I like US President Barack Obama and wanted to see him in person.”
“I wanted to be here to see America’s first black president speaking in Europe. I think it’s an historic moment for Europe as well as the USA and I wanted to be here.”
“I’m super-excited to see President Obama because we haven’t been home since he was elected. It will be really cool to see him here and then head home in a month or so and have him as a new president, with a whole new approach to governing.”
“I know that this is very important for the rest of the world because of the US influence and what we do says a lot to everyone. I think that this is an important opportunity to let everyone know where we stand.”
“Well, I am hoping that he is going to say something that will ‘shatter’ the Earth, something that will plant a seed so that we think about our selves, the economy, really everything that is going on in the world today.”
First of all, Jan, can you tell me a bit about what was in the speech?
Well basically, Rosie, Mr Obama in Prague on Sunday laid out a very ambitious but also hopeful agenda to reduce nuclear arms around the world. He said that the United States – the only country to have used a nuclear weapon – had a moral responsibility to act. Basically, what Mr Obama is seeking is an immediate end to nuclear testing; he made clear, for example, his intent to seek the US Senate’s approval of the Test Ban Treaty. He also said – and this was something that probably raised many eyebrows – that he wanted a global summit on nuclear security and that to be held within a year. I his speech he made clear that not only America’s security but also the rest of the world’s was at stake. An excerpt from his speech:
“In a strange turn of history the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up. More nations have acquired these weapons, testing has continued, black-market trade in nuclear secrets and nuclear material abound. The technology to build a bomb has spread. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal one. Our efforts to contain these dangers are centred on a global non-proliferation regime, but as more people and nations break the rules, we could reach the point where the centre can not hold.”
Now, Jan, all of this seems particularly timely in light of news that North Korea tested a missile in the sea beside Japan. Did that receive any mention in Mr Obama’s speech on Sunday?
“Just this morning we were reminded again of why we need a new and more rigorous approach to address this threat. North Korea broke the rules, once again, by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles. This provocation underscores the need for action – not just this afternoon at the UN Security Council. But in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now is the time for a strong international response.”
Tough rhetoric from US President Barack Obama; nevertheless, my understanding is that overall the tone was uplifting?
I think so. Certainly people I was able to speak with during or after the speech, many of them had an emotional response which was that this is really what they wanted to hear. There were a lot of Americans in the crowd who said ‘this is really what we want from our new president: somebody who will push the envelope. Basically, Barack Obama made clear this is a very tough task ahead to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, a task he said he might not see completed even during his lifetime, but that we had to have the courage to take it on. In that sense it was uplifting and people I spoke to came away glad that the president was not afraid of the challenge.
On a final note, I hear that the US president also spoke very warmly of the Czech Republic and Czech-US ties.
That was really interesting: he talked a lot about Prague and the Czech Republic, maybe more than many expected. He talked about the Czechs in their thousand-year history and also about the Cold War and also how they helped bring down communism in the Velvet Revolution. There’s no doubt that cheered many of the Czech audience as well.”
