Vice President Biden spoke on February 18 at the National Defense University regarding the budget increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration as well as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.  Increasing the budget for nuclear weapons seems as though the United States is directing policy contradictory to what President Obama had recommended for nuclear non-proliferation.  Yet in this speech, Vice President Biden sought to prove that these budget initiatives were in fact for both non-proliferation and American national security.

Vice President Biden echoed the sentiments of President Obama by showing that the United States can be a leader in non-proliferation while still maintaining a high level of security.  He reiterated this by defining the United States as a leader for a post nuclear world, but to reach this goal we still need a limited nuclear arsenal.  The Vice President explained that nuclear deterrence worked as a Cold War doctrine and retaining an arsenal will further deter our enemies.  Eventually through our leadership, new technologies will evolve bringing a new form of deterrence making nuclear weapons obsolete.  

Explaining the budget increase of five billion dollars over the next five years for nuclear weapons was a main focus of Vice President Biden's speech.  He illustrated that even though these are hard times economically, upgrading our aging nuclear arsenal with modern technology will both aid non-proliferation and national security.  Through this effort, we will reduce the number of nuclear warheads but increase the technological capabilities of our weapons, thus supporting non-proliferation as well as security.  By expanding the nuclear budget, U.S. laboratories will be able to afford research for specializations in locating and disarming nuclear material before they fall into unfriendly hands.

Furthermore, Vice President Biden spoke about the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.  He made it a point to say that testing nuclear weapons previously has brought much harm to individual health and the environment.  These tests were set up to confirm and evaluate the effectiveness of nuclear weapons, but now there is no need for this.  Biden stated that our labs today know more about our nuclear arsenal than they ever had while testing the objects.  The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty again allows for progressive steps towards non-proliferation without compromising national security.  By ratifying this treaty, the United States will help lead the world past the threat of nuclear war.  Along with the treaty, increasing the National Nuclear Security Administration budget will continue this Administration’s progressive policy.

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