Introduction
President Obama speaks May 27 in Hiroshima, Japan, where the U.S. detonated the first atomic bomb. Obama called on nations with nuclear weapons to “have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them.” (Getty Images/Asahi Shimbun)
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In his first term, President Obama vowed to try to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Now, in his second term, while still hoping for a non-nuclear world, Obama has embarked on a vast plan to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, a step he says is needed to keep the weapons reliable and safe. The effort — aimed at upgrading the nation's launch systems, warheads and the missiles, bombers and submarines that deliver them — could run nearly $350 billion in equipment and operational costs over the next decade and up to $1 trillion by 2050. The move comes amid rising tensions with Russia and China, the world's other top nuclear superpowers, as well as continuing skirmishes between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and the nuclear ambitions of rogue states such as North Korea and Iran. Advocates of nuclear disarmament say the administration's plan will increase the danger of a nuclear holocaust by encouraging other countries to add to their nuclear stockpiles. But advocates of modernizing the U.S. arsenal say up-to-date and powerful nuclear weapons will discourage hostile nations from attacking the United States.
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Weapons of Mass Destruction |
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Jul. 29, 2016 |
Modernizing the Nuclear Arsenal |
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Mar. 08, 2002 |
Weapons of Mass Destruction |
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Jan. 31, 1997 |
Chemical and Biological Weapons |
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Jun. 24, 1994 |
Nuclear Arms Cleanup |
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Jun. 05, 1992 |
Nuclear Proliferation |
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Jun. 29, 1990 |
Obstacles to Bio-Chemical Disarmament |
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Apr. 22, 1988 |
The Military Build-Down in the 1990s |
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May 24, 1987 |
Euromissile Negotiations |
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Jul. 11, 1986 |
Chemical Weapons |
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Apr. 27, 1984 |
Reagan's Defense Buildup |
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Jun. 04, 1982 |
Civil Defense |
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Jul. 17, 1981 |
Controlling Nuclear Proliferation |
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Jun. 05, 1981 |
MX Missile Decision |
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Aug. 15, 1980 |
The Neutron Bomb and European Defense |
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Sep. 07, 1979 |
Atomic Secrecy |
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Mar. 17, 1978 |
Nuclear Proliferation |
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May 27, 1977 |
Chemical-Biological Warfare |
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May 13, 1977 |
Politics of Strategic Arms Negotiations |
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Nov. 15, 1974 |
Nuclear Safeguards |
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Jul. 01, 1970 |
Nuclear Balance of Terror: 25 Years After Alamogordo |
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Jun. 18, 1969 |
Chemical–Biological Weaponry |
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Jun. 30, 1965 |
Atomic Proliferation |
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Mar. 21, 1962 |
Nuclear Testing Dilemmas |
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Aug. 16, 1961 |
Shelters and Survival |
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Oct. 12, 1959 |
Chemical-Biological Warfare |
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May 13, 1959 |
Nuclear Test Ban |
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Dec. 04, 1957 |
Scientific Cooperation and Atlantic Security |
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May 15, 1957 |
Changing Defense Concepts |
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Jul. 03, 1956 |
Civil Defense, 1956 |
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Nov. 16, 1955 |
International Arms Deals |
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Oct. 04, 1954 |
Industrial Defense |
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Apr. 15, 1954 |
National Defense Strategy |
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Feb. 10, 1954 |
New Aproaches to Atomic Control |
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Oct. 10, 1953 |
Atomic Information |
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Apr. 11, 1952 |
Biological Warfare |
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Oct. 03, 1951 |
World Arms Race |
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Feb. 04, 1948 |
International Control of Atomic Energy |
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Dec. 06, 1946 |
International Inspection |
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Aug. 27, 1943 |
Gas Warfare |
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Jul. 24, 1937 |
The New Race in Armaments |
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May 05, 1932 |
Abolition of Aggressive Weapons |
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