Nuclear Summit opens to keep N-weapons out of terrorist hand

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 12 (PTI) An unprecedented two-day
Nuclear Security Summit kicks off here Monday with US
President Barack Obama and other world leaders joining to
craft an agreement on keeping nuclear weapons out of terrorist
hands.
The Summit of world leaders from 47 countries, including
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will open with a warning
by Obama that terror groups like al-Qaeda have aspirations to
arm themselves with nuclear weapons.
The gathering of Presidents and Prime Ministers has
been described as the largest gathering of world leaders
organised by the US in more than five decades.
The Summit would be heralded by Obama hosting a working
dinner for the heads of delegations but US officials said a
sweeping or bold new initiatives to halt nuclear proliferation
were not expected.
"This dinner will be dedicated to addressing the
threat of nuclear terrorism," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National
Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters
during a teleconference.
Obama has already sounded the key note for the conference
by warning that "terror outfits like al Qaeda are in the
process of securing nuclear weapons or other weapons of
mass destruction and would have no compunction at using them."
He set this tone for the Summit during his meeting
with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night. Obama has set a
goal of ensuring all fissile material worldwide are secured
from theft or diversion within four years.
On the table would also be major strategies to stop
Iran's perceived attempts to build nuclear weapons in
violation of NPT and North Korea's nuke weapon stockpile and
exports of nuclear material weapons and technology.
Before the working dinner, Obama will formally welcome
each of these leaders to the summit.
"We believe that this summit is necessary to galvanise
the kind of collective action that's necessary to deal with
what really would be the highest consequence threat to the
American people and to global security as it relates to the
ability of terrorists to acquire a nuclear weapon and use
one in one of our cities or any city around the world."
"This would obviously have devastating consequences
both in terms of the immediate destruction and loss of life,
but also implications for the global security environment
after an active nuclear terrorism," he said.
"So tomorrow night, to forge a consensus view about
the nature of this threat, the President will be leading a
discussion with the heads of the delegations about their
perceptions of the threat and, of course, what needs to be
done to confront it," Rhodes said.
At the end of the two-day summit, the world leaders
are likely to issue a communiqué recognising that nuclear
terrorism is a serious threat and securing all vulnerable
nuclear materials over a four-year period.
"There will be a high-level communiqué from the
leaders which will recognise that nuclear terrorism is a
serious threat; which will endorse President Obama's effort to
secure all vulnerable nuclear materials over a four-year
period," Gary Samore, Senior Advisor to the President and
Senior Director for Non-proliferation said.
It "will pledge in a general way steps that countries
can take on both a national and an international level in
order to strengthen nuclear security and prevent terrorists or
criminal groups from getting access to materials for nuclear
weapons," he added.
"Underlining the communiqué there's a more detailed
work plan which all the countries have agreed to, and that
lays out in more specific detail the concrete commitments that
countries will take on a national and an international level
to strengthen security," he said. PTI LKJ
PRS