Charting a path forward for U.S. nuclear weapons policy was the focal point as Obama Administration officials, industry leaders and international envoys gathered in Alexandria, Va., for the Second Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit (Feb. 16-19, 2010; click here for agenda. Before an audience of nearly 300, Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak kicked off the Summit with remarks on the potential for negotiations on a replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to signify a new era of U.S.-Russian relations. With the President seeking a significant increase in funding for the nuclear weapons complex in Fiscal Year 2011, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and National Nuclear Security Administration chief Tom D' Agostino detailed the Administration's vision for the weapons program, especially in light of the President's goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. "While the President, he did set forward a vision of reducing the emphasis and role of nuclear weapons in our nations' national security posture and the goal of global zero, he also said that we have to maintain the safety, security and effectiveness of the stockpile we have today; that going to zero won't happen in his lifetime, but we have to demonstrate we're moving down that path," D'Agostino said. The two-and-a-half-day Summit left few stones in the debate unturned, with attendees hearing a perspective from U.S. Strategic Command's Maj. Gen. Floyd Carpenter on the front lines of the nation's nuclear deterrent and Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald Alston on the Air Force's efforts to shore up its nuclear mission. click here for proceedings.
