[06/March/2010]

Washington, March 06 (Saba) - U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States will pledge to cut the number of its nuclear weapons and reduce their role in national security in its new nuclear strategy, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

''Our forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review will move beyond outdated Cold War thinking and reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons in our national security,'' Obama said in a statement on the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Obama administration is expected to issue the new nuclear strategic guideline by the end of this month. It will be the first review of nuclear strategy in eight years.
In the statement, Obama pointed to the persistent threat of nuclear proliferation and the importance of the NPT. ''Today, the threat of global nuclear war has passed, but the danger of nuclear proliferation endures, making the basic bargain of the NPT more important than ever.''

''The United States reaffirms our resolve to strengthen the nonproliferation regime to meet the challenges of the 21st century as we pursue our ultimate vision of a world without nuclear weapons,'' he said.

Referring to the Nuclear Security Summit that the United States will host in Washington in April, Obama said the United States will move forward with the goal of securing the world's vulnerable nuclear materials in four years.

Obama also said he will seek to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty at the U.S. Congress.

Saba