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Bombs away!

12 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Letter to the Colossians, one of the Easter lectionary options, encourages us to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." With a North Korean missile launch in mind last Sunday, President Obama announced in a speech in Prague that the U.S. will embark on an ambitious plan to markedly reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world. If he succeeds, words from the Acts of the Apostles read this Sunday-"he went about doing good"-will certainly apply. Obama told a cheering crowd estimated at 20,000 or more that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking hours after the North Korean missile launch, which drew international concern and condemnation, Obama outlined a plan toward a goal he admitted was decades away. "As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," he told the crowd gathered in Prague's historic Hradcany Square. Obama laid out a process to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, ban nuclear testing, and put loose fissile material out of the reach of terrorists. Until weapons and the material to make them are fully secured, Obama said, the U.S. will maintain its nuclear arsenal to deter adversaries. Obama promised to negotiate a strategic arms-reduction treaty with Russia by the end of the year that would dramatically reduce the number of nuclear warheads. A few days earlier, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed during meetings in London to produce a new arms-control treaty to replace the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. Obama's plan also called for peaceful uses of nuclear power through an international fuel bank that would be available to every nation that renounces nuclear weapons. He said he supported Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy, providing the regime agrees to regular and thorough inspections. Finally, Obama said he hoped to host a world summit on nuclear weapons within the year. Source: An article by Christi Parsons and Tom Hamburger for the Chicago Tribune

barack obama russia strategic arms reduction treaty dmitry medvedev united states nuclear weapons missiles prague north korea
Putting bombs away

12 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the vision of the psalmist this Sunday, "Justice and peace shall kiss." While President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev didn't kiss this week, they did sign a preliminary agreement to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles by as much as one third. Two days of meetings resulted in the signing of other important documents as well, including a deal to let U.S. troops cross Russia en route to Afghanistan. The two leaders agreed their countries would work closely together to study new missile security threats the United States says are at the core of its rationale for planning new missile defenses in Europe, and they called for renewed efforts to develop greater commercial and economic ties. "I can't think of a summit that was so comprehensive in what we are trying to do as a government," said Michael McFaul, special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs. "There is an emphasis on style, on tone," however, rather than action in Obama's efforts thus far to build a new relationship with Russia, said Sam Greene, deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a U.S.-based political research institute. "But that is also important. If this process is going to keep up momentum, it needs to be clear to politicians in both capitals that the presidents are putting a lot of their own political capital into the process." "Even a symbolic detente is not bad," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the Moscow foreign policy review Russia in Global Affairs. "The style has changed utterly by comparison with last autumn" when tensions between the United States and Russia soared to levels not seen since Ronald Reagan entered the White House in the early 1980s, he said. Source: Articles by Christopher Boian for Agence France Presse and Michael A. Fletcher and Philip P. Pan for the Washington Post

barack obama russia in global affairs fyodor lukyanov carnegie moscow center sam greene michael mcfaul europe arms control missiles nuclear weapons united states dmitry medvedev afghanistan russia ronald reagan
Europeans build bridges instead of walls

15 Nov 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Book of Daniel this Sunday describes an era when the "people shall escape" and lauds those "who lead the many to justice." This week the German people celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and Polish 1980's pro-democracy leader Lech Walesa were among those being praised for their roles in the fall of the Wall. Thousands cheered as 1,000 colorfully decorated dominoes along a mile-long route were toppled to symbolize both the moment the Wall came crashing down and the resulting fall of communist governments in Eastern Europe. It was the finale to a day of memorial services, speeches, and events that attracted leaders from around the world. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 78-year-old Gorbachev stood shoulder to shoulder as they walked through a former fortified border crossing point between East and West Berlin to cheers of "Gorby! Gorby!" Merkel--the first chancellor to be raised in the former communist East--called the fall of the Wall an "epic" moment in history. "For me, it was one of the happiest moments of my life," Merkel told the crowd. "This wall divided not only a single country but, as we realize today, all of Europe," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said. In another symbol of a less divided Europe, Merkel on Wednesday marked Armistice Day alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Paris' Arc de Triomphe in a ceremony that both leaders said underlined their two countries' reconciliation. It was the first appearance by a German leader at the observance held to commemorate Germany's First World War surrender on Nov. 11, 1918. Source: Articles by Fabio Benedetti-Valentini for Bloomberg.com and Melissa Eddy for the Associated Press

angela merkel armistice day lech walesa mikhail gorbachev berlin wall europe nicolas sarkozy dmitry medvedev france germany