SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — U.S. President Barack Obama raised expectations for achieving a world without nuclear weapons when he said in Prague on April 5, "I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."
But he only succeeded in moving the world a very small fraction of the way toward this goal when he met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on July 6 to announce the outcome thus far of U.S.-Russian negotiations on nuclear disarmament.
A joint understanding signed in Moscow by the two presidents gave little cause for celebration for those who share Obama's vision of a world without nuclear weapons.