John Kerry 's position on

India and Pakistan's role in Nuclear Proliferation: In a speech given by the president on May 31, 2004, he spoke about how he authorized the spending of $10 billion dollars over 10 years by G8 Summit members to be used for the dismantling of nuclear programs in countries where terrorists can easily obtain nuclear weapons. Both Pakistan and India are known to have nuclear technology. Although the tension between North and South Korea is usually assumed to be the largest potential threat of nuclear weaponsuse, the hostility that exists between the Indians and the Pakistanis is just as severe.

Description of candidate's position: Kerry believes if al Qadea were to obtain weapons the United States would be a prime target. Wishes to strengthen counter proliferation efforts, expand the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), and support the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Kerry's website

Quotation from the candidate: "It was local law enforcement working with our intelligence services which caught Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramsi Bin al Shibh in Pakistan and the murderer known as Hambali in Thailand. Joining with local police forces didn't mean serving these terrorists with legal papers; it meant throwing them behind bars. None of the progress we have made would have been possible without cooperation &endash; and much more would be possible if we had a President who didn't alienate long-time friends and fuel anti-American anger around the world." February 27, 2004. link

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) dismisses Bush's spending proposal, stating, "In addition, the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), negotiated with Russia in 2002, will lead only to the reduction of the number of actively deployed strategic (long-range) nuclear weapons to between 1,700 and 2,200 by year 2012, with no timetable other than the endpoint and no procedures for verification." February 11, 2004. Link 

Negative: However, the NAPF also dismisses the PSI, stating "the PSI currently goes beyond existing, legitimate, treaty-based mechanisms. Furthermore, the PSI enshrines existing nuclear double-standards by allowing NPT-acknowledged nuclear weapon states to deploy nuclear-armed submarines in the world's oceans, or deploy nuclear weapons on other states' territories…" February 11, 2004. link

Comparison: Bush dismisses Kerry's statements that he is acting unilaterally, stating "we are working with the U.N. and the IAEA to preserve common security." September 13, 2004. link

Link to Bush's issue page