Obama’s Summit as a Success?

Post by Lindsay Rosenfeld, Great Decisions student

Talk regarding the dangers of nuclear weaponry has become quite prevalent throughout the past few years, reaching its peak this month with the two-day nuclear security conference in Washington D.C. With representatives from 46 countries in attendance, Barak Obama aims to enlist the support of these nations in securing all nuclear material. In today’s world, the prospect of nuclear materials falling into the “wrong” hands is far from unbelievable.
The summit has already proven to be quite promising with the Ukraine’s announcement that it would get rid of its supply of highly enriched uranium by 2012 and Russia’s promise to close its ADE-2 reactor. The truth of the matter is, however, that the true success of the summit will not be apparent until years from now. The primary concern and, likewise, danger is not necessarily the proliferation of such nuclear weaponry, but the unaccounted presence of such materials that can fall into the hands of extremists and terrorists.
Unfortunately, not every country is as concerned with maintaining nuclear security as the United States. This regrettable truth could prove to be the downfall for the nuclear security summit. Rightfully so, countries in sub-Saharan Africa will prioritize eradicating poverty and advancing development over securing nuclear materials. In order to ensure the cooperation of such countries, the Obama administration will need to provide incentives to encourage these countries to cooperate. Whether these incentives come in the form of monetary aid or personnel deployment, these countries need to support the efforts of the summit or else its success will be compromised.