Obama maintains US double standard in nuclear policy: Scholar
US President Barack Obama has shown “double standard” regarding the issue of nuclear non-proliferation, and his possible visit to Hiroshima, Japan, would be a “symbolic gesture,” an American analyst says.
Obama will travel to Hiroshima in what would be the first visit by a sitting US leader to the atom-bombed city, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported.
Washington will “arrange with Japan his visit on May 27 when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up,” the newspaper said, citing several anonymous US government officials.
About 140,000 people were killed in the 1945 bombing, which was followed by another US atomic bombing on the port city of Nagasaki, killing about 70,000 people.
Obama’s visit to Hiroshima would have enormous symbolic importance, however, it would be controversial at home if it were seen as an apology.
“It is very unlikely that he will offer any kind of formal apology for the atomic bombing in 1945. Unfortunately it would be very politically difficult for him to do so,” Stephen Zunes, an international relations scholar, told Press TV in an interview.
“However, even simply visiting the site of the ground zero of the bombing and memorializing those who died shows that for the first time a United States president is acknowledging how horrific the actual use of a nuclear weapon can be,” Zunes said.
The US continues to be the number-one proliferator and exporter of advanced weapons and is the only country that has ever used an atomic bomb.
Early this month, Obama hosted more than 50 world leaders for his fourth and final summit focused on ways to protect nuclear facilities and stop nuclear terrorism, which he called “one of the greatest threats to global security.”
“He (Obama) like previous presidents has had a double standard regarding nuclear proliferation; that is raising concerns about the nuclear potential for governments the United States does not like while largely ignoring the nuclear programs by US allies and the ongoing US nuclear arsenal,” Zunes said.
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