Are we set for a nuclear-free future?

The world is starting to worry about The Bomb once more, but there is cautious optimism in the air. Just hours after North Korea launched a missile into the Pacific, President Obama delivered his Palm Sunday speech in Prague. Paul Carroll, Ploughshares Fund program director, commented, “A launch is very media-genic, but it’s been a little overblown.” While experts believe North Korea cannot deliver a nuclear weapon via missile, Carroll adds, “the real risk is them selling information and technology, because they haven’t been very good global citizens. So it’s important to engage – if we cross our arms and do nothing, it doesn’t get us anywhere, as the Bush administration found out.” Jonathan Schell remarked, “It’s been a 180 degree change from the Bush administration, which makes for a much more hopeful picture.” He added, “My own inner-doomsday clock has gone back a minute or two.”