Barack Obama announced on Tuesday he would pursue a global ban on nuclear weapons.

A ban on nuclear weapons will probably please environmentalists and those opposed to weapons of mass destruction.

Obama wants to work with Russia to take missiles off the trigger.

The idea of banning nuclear weapons is not new. Presidential candidate John Edwards claimed Obama stole the idea from him.

An Edwards spokeswoman claimed Obama has followed Edwards on other issues, including health care and poverty.

Banning nuclear weapons is an admirable goal, but it is unlikely. It seems Obama thinks if Russia and the United States get rid of nuclear weapons, everyone else will.

There are no guarantees it will happen.

Besides the United States and Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel all have nuclear capabilities.

Iran has also been accused of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran claims to be developing nuclear energy.

This highly political move Obama made is just to get him the Democratic nomination.

The United States in recent years has not been interested in abandoning its nuclear stockpiles.

While the United States has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which it did sign in 1996.

While a test has not occurred in the United States since 1992, the treaty was not ratified, even though the United Kingdom, Russia and France have signed it.

Out of all the countries that have possessed nuclear weapons only South Africa, the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan have dismantled or transferred their weapons to Russia.

Nuclear weapons are bad, and no one will deny it. However, when countries with nuclear weapons are asked to give up theirs, who is going to start the lead?

It might turn into a “if they don’t, we won’t.” situation and no one will dismantle their weapons.

Obama may believe the United States and Russia can lead the pact in ridding themselves of their stockpiles, but unless everyone can agree why get rid of them?

There is no guarantee if they are eliminated in one country others will follow.

If India gets rid of them, would Pakistan follow?

Those countries have been in disputes and skirmishes for years. If one gets rid of nuclear weapons, the other has an advantage.

The United States has pledged to cut its stockpile down to 2,200 by 2012 as part of the Treaty on Strategic Reductions. The Department of Energy announced in 2004 half the nuclear weapons slated for dismantlement would be done by that time.

Obama may have announced his desire to eliminate nuclear weapons, but is it an actual goal or a phrase to land himself a new job?