Obama Backs Biggest Nuclear Arms Buildup Since Cold War (From Forbes)

Barack Obama has been a proponent of nuclear disarmament his entire adult life, but you’d never know that to look at the sprawling strategic modernization agenda his administration is pursuing.  The president’s plan involves replacing every delivery system in the strategic arsenal, modernizing every warhead, deploying new tactical nuclear capabilities, and greatly enhancing the nuclear command-and-control system.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that when all of Obama’s nuclear-arms initiatives are combined with the expense of sustaining the legacy deterrent force, the cost over the ten years ending in 2024 will be a staggering $348 billion.  And that’s just the beginning — some of the new weapons being developed will remain in operation until after 2080.  For all the complaining of critics about Obama being weak on defense, in the one area where national survival is most at stake, he has turned out to be a true hawk.  I have written a commentary for Forbes here.