Obama may cut nuclear arms by 80 percent

2/15/2012

Soon after President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he pledged to drastically reduce the number of nuclear weapons carried by the United States, and sources close to the White House suggest he's going to make good on the promise. Obama may cut up to 80 percent of deployed nuclear arms, according to The Associated Press.

Specific details have not been released, but it appears as though the administration could lower levels of strategic nuclear warheads by as many as 1,100 or as little as 400. Either way, it would bring the U.S. to levels not seen in decades. According to the AP, there were about 12,000 in the late '80s and now the number stands about 1,550.

Neither Pentagon nor White House officials have commented yet, but there are some people who feel that the plan is the right move.

"The administration is absolutely correct to look at deep cuts like this," Stephen Young, senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the AP. "The United States does not rely on nuclear weapons as a central part of our security."

Lower levels of nuclear arms will not put the United States in any danger, analysts say. According to a 2010 New York Times article, Air Force officials believe a level of 311 nuclear arms is sufficient.