NY Times Chronicles Administration’s Modernization Plans, Disarmament Struggles

Using the National Nuclear Security Administration’s new Kansas City Plant as a backdrop, the New York Times yesterday chronicled efforts—and future plans—to modernize the nation’s weapons complex and nuclear arsenal, raising questions about the price tag for the modernization plans. The Times noted that the modernization efforts come under President Obama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nuclear disarmament vision but has thus far been able to realized only a small portion of his nuclear security agenda. “The original idea was that modest rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling nuclear complex would speed arms refurbishment, raising confidence in the arsenal’s reliability and paving the way for new treaties that would significantly cut the number of warheads,” the Times said. “Instead, because of political deals and geopolitical crises, the Obama administration is engaging in extensive atomic rebuilding while getting only modest arms reductions in return."