Praise for restraint
April 7, 2010
The German government on Wednesday welcomed Washington’s Nuclear Posture Review as a decisive move toward reducing the likelihood of a nuclear conflict. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the policy was also a major step toward effective arms control.
"It's an important decision for the United States to say it won't develop any new nuclear warheads and carry out nuclear tests," Westerwelle said. "There's a good chance that the next ten years will become a decade of genuine disarmament."
Conditional restraint
German legislators were relieved the Nuclear Posture Review ushered in a much more restrictive US policy on the use of atomic weapons. The policy states that the US would never launch a nuclear attack against non-nuclear states that adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
A foreign policy spokesman for Germany's opposition Social Democrats, Rolf Muetzenich, called the shift in US nuclear policy remarkable, although added that it didn't meet all his expectations.
"I had wished to hear a general renunciation of use of nuclear weapons and a clearer shift away from the principle of nuclear deterrence as such," Muetzenich said. "After all, there are enough frightening conventional weapons around to deter enemies."
The Nuclear Posture Review does state that exceptions could be made for Iran and North Korea, both of which are suspected of trying to acquire or build a nuclear bomb.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin called on Iran to comply with the appeal by the international community to give up its nuclear program. It said the US Nuclear Posture Review, plus the planned signing of a new arms reduction agreement between the USA and Russia, should provide Tehran with ample proof of a genuine desire to move toward disarmament.
Warheads in Europe not affected
The German government agreed to work toward the removal of the remaining 10 to 20 US nuclear warheads on German soil. However, their immediate withdrawal is not part of Washington's new strategy. US president Barack Obama said the issue of tactical warheads in Europe had to be dealt with in separate negotiations.
hg/AP/AFP/dpa
Editor: Rob Turner