By Luke Cherney

Daily Titan Staff Writer

“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” Teddy Roosevelt said. Today, a nuclear arsenal is the biggest stick there is.

President Obama is trying to secure our safety with nuclear armaments with newer facilities and newer equipment. More countries than ever before are now able to procure the main ingredient of a nuclear bomb: enriched uranium.

“Thomas D’Agostino defended putting more money into the programs, saying the U.S. needs the best nuclear weapons facilities, scientists, technicians and engineers as it moves toward eventual disarmament,” wrote Associated Press reporter Sue Major Holmes about the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

Enriched uranium is a radioactive, volatile element that makes nuclear bombs explode with a staggering magnitude. However, in peaceful hands, enriched uranium is a vital component in nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy can power cities and other large areas without much detritus, unlike like fossil fuels. If correctly built and monitored, a nuclear power plant can go on for an indefinite amount of time. The San Onofre nuclear generating station generates 2,200 megawatts of power, enough to serve 1.5 million Southern California homes.

Most people can see the benefit to nuclear energy in lieu of fossil fuels, so it would make perfect sense to give the technology to all foreign countries. However, we are not certain that all countries would use the supplied technology appropriately; especially countries that have leaders that are opposed to United States’ foreign policies.

“Of course, if they refuse to do so, (help build nuclear power plants). We will eventually become able to do this within the next few years, because our nation cannot be stopped,” according to Fars News Agency, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (referring to the West).

“Experts believe that Iran could enrich enough uranium for a bomb within a few months. However, it has apparently not mastered the technology of making a nuclear warhead,” according to the British Broadcasting Corp.

“India (and) Pakistan, both have developed nuclear weapons. North Korea has left the treaty and has announced that it has acquired a nuclear weapons capacity. Israel refuses to join the NPT or allow inspections. It is reckoned to have up to 400 warheads but refuses to confirm or deny this,” the BBC also reported.

While President Obama can call for a reduction of nuclear armaments, there is absolutely no way he can fully be rid of “the most dangerous legacies of the Cold War,” he said in an April 2009 speech. In a twist of bizarre coincidence, it was the same day North Korea tested its nuclear bomb.

Despite being in an economic upheaval, and having talks about nuclear reduction, it is vital for America to stay one step ahead of foreign countries, regardless of the cost, to maintain the balance as both a peacekeeper and an influence during these ever-changing, uncertain times.