PRESIDENT TO CALL FOR MORE NUKE REDUCTIONS IN SPEECH TODAY

President Obama is expected to outline his vision for future nuclear reductions in a speech today on the East side of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, suggesting that the United States could reduce the size of its deployed nuclear arsenal by up to one-third, or to as low as 1,000 warheads. Obama’s speech, delivered at the same place that President Kennedy and President Reagan gave historic addresses, would represent a continuation of his arms control policies, sketching out the results of the Nuclear Posture Review implementation study that has been in the works for more than a year. A Congressional aide confirmed that senior lawmakers had been briefed on the contents of Obama’s speech, and that Obama would announce that he has signed new classified nuclear weapons employment guidance. The President will suggest that he will ramp up negotiations with Russia on further nuclear cuts, perhaps amending the New START Treaty, though the reductions could also take the form of an agreement between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which would not be subject to Senate ratification. Obama also is expected to call for cuts to the tactical nuclear stockpiles of each country, which are not covered under the New START Treaty. That treaty, agreed to in 2010, caps the size of the U.S. and Russian arsenals at 1,550 warheads, but Obama said last year that he believed the U.S. had more nuclear weapons than it needs and could further reduce the size of its arsenal without damaging its national security.