Advertisement

Nuclear Ambitions

24:42
Download Audio
Resume
photo

"I'm trying to think differently," said the president in India. And he meant think differently about nuclear weapons.

For decades, the United States helped lead the nuclear non-proliferation movement. Twenty years ago, huge numbers of Americans were standing up for a nuclear freeze.

In India, George W. Bush thought differently, accepting India's nuclear weapons program and, some say, boosting it. Congress must now decide whether to endorse the deal.

But already, from India to Pakistan to the dreams of nuclear wannabes around the world, the 21st century looks like a time of nuclear opportunity.

Hear Jonathan Shell, Aston Carter, Richard Boucher and more talk about going from hopes of a freeze to fear of free-for-all nuclear weapons in a new century.

Guests:

David Sanger, White House correspondent, New York Times

Jonathan Schell, peace and disarmament correspondent, The Nation Magazine. He is author of "The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People."

Ash Carter, co-director of the Preventive Defense Project at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where is also professor of Science and International Affairs.;
Richard Boucher, assistant Secretary of State. Head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. He just returned from India, where he was with President Bush.

Robert Einhorn, senior adviser in the Center for Strategic and International Security Program. From November 1999 to August 2001, he was assistant secretary for nonproliferation at the State Department.

This program aired on March 7, 2006.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close