Hans Blix and Michael O'Hanlon at the World Affairs Council - October 27, 2009

President Obama recently announced support to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as well as take the lead in international efforts to eradicate, in the long-term, all nuclear weapons from the world. Following up on this initiative, the President will chair a United Nations Security Council session on nuclear disarmament this fall, marking the first time that a U.S. leader will direct a debate in the Security Council as well as the first time since its formation in 1945, that the U.N. Security Council will deliberate the issue of nuclear weapons.

Opponents of nuclear disarmament contend that the goal of total global disarmament is neither desirable nor realistic. They argue that the proliferation of nuclear weapons among the developing world and the rising prospect of nuclear terrorism have significantly altered the global nuclear landscape, rendering the conventional rules of deterrence ineffective and outdated.

Hans Blix, former head U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq during the run-up to the Iraqi war, now serves as Chairman of the International Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission. He and Michael O'Hanlon, U.S. national security expert and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, will discuss the pros and cons of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and the likelihood of achieving general and complete disarmament.