Obama, leaders unite in terror fight
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
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PRESIDENTS, prime ministers and other leaders from 47 countries have started work on a battle plan in Washington DC to keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.
The host, United States President Barack Obama, is looking for global help in his goal of ensuring all nuclear materials worldwide are secured from theft or diversion within four years.
On the eve of the largest assembly of world leaders hosted by an American president since 1945 - the San Francisco conference to found the United Nations - Obama said nuclear materials in the hands of al-Qaida or any terrorist group "could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come."
A few hours ahead of Obama's official welcome yesterday for the guests at a convention center, the White House was a revolving door for international visitors, including Jordan's King Abdullah II, who held face-to-face talks with Obama.
Jordan's intelligence apparatus is deeply involved in the Afghan war.
Obama opens the conference with a working dinner and has meetings lined up with the leaders of China, Malaysia and Armenia.
The sessions close with a joint statement on efforts to prevent the transfer of nuclear materials.
Ahead of the conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that she, too, saw dirty bombs in terrorist hands as an even larger threat than regular nuclear weapons.
Merkel said yesterday that such weapons "must not under any circumstances" fall into the hands of terror groups such as al-Qaida.
"We believe that the IAEA must be strengthened, we are ready to pledge additional finances to make this happen," Merkel said of the nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Iran's nuclear program must be watched closely, but he said sanctions on the country would have to be smart and effective because sanctions often don't work.
"They should not lead to humanitarian catastrophe, where the whole Iranian community would start to hate the whole world," the Russian president said.
While sweeping or even bold new strategies were unlikely to emerge from the two-day gathering, Obama declared himself pleased with what he heard in warm-up meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
"I feel very good at this stage in the degree of commitment and a sense of urgency that I have seen from the world leaders so far on this issue," Obama said yesterday.
"We think we can make enormous progress on this, and this then becomes part and parcel of the broader focus that we've had over the lastseveral weeks," said the US president.
The host, United States President Barack Obama, is looking for global help in his goal of ensuring all nuclear materials worldwide are secured from theft or diversion within four years.
On the eve of the largest assembly of world leaders hosted by an American president since 1945 - the San Francisco conference to found the United Nations - Obama said nuclear materials in the hands of al-Qaida or any terrorist group "could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come."
A few hours ahead of Obama's official welcome yesterday for the guests at a convention center, the White House was a revolving door for international visitors, including Jordan's King Abdullah II, who held face-to-face talks with Obama.
Jordan's intelligence apparatus is deeply involved in the Afghan war.
Obama opens the conference with a working dinner and has meetings lined up with the leaders of China, Malaysia and Armenia.
The sessions close with a joint statement on efforts to prevent the transfer of nuclear materials.
Ahead of the conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that she, too, saw dirty bombs in terrorist hands as an even larger threat than regular nuclear weapons.
Merkel said yesterday that such weapons "must not under any circumstances" fall into the hands of terror groups such as al-Qaida.
"We believe that the IAEA must be strengthened, we are ready to pledge additional finances to make this happen," Merkel said of the nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Iran's nuclear program must be watched closely, but he said sanctions on the country would have to be smart and effective because sanctions often don't work.
"They should not lead to humanitarian catastrophe, where the whole Iranian community would start to hate the whole world," the Russian president said.
While sweeping or even bold new strategies were unlikely to emerge from the two-day gathering, Obama declared himself pleased with what he heard in warm-up meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
"I feel very good at this stage in the degree of commitment and a sense of urgency that I have seen from the world leaders so far on this issue," Obama said yesterday.
"We think we can make enormous progress on this, and this then becomes part and parcel of the broader focus that we've had over the lastseveral weeks," said the US president.
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