The U.S. Department of Defense honored U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn this week with its Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Pentagon’s highest civilian honor.
The award recognizes two decades of efforts to help the former Soviet Union secure its stockpiles of weapons, and it underlines the hope that the work will continue in spite of Lugar’s approaching departure from the U.S. Senate.
“We cannot let our guard down,” President Barack Obama said during a speech at the National Defense University in Washington.
Calling efforts to fight nuclear terrorism one of his top priorities as president, Obama praised the 20-year-old Cooperative Threat Reduction program that has provided billions of dollars in equipment and know-how to help former Soviet bloc nations safeguard and dismantle nuclear and chemical weapons.
Obama cited the “extraordinary progress” that’s been made in securing nuclear materials and thanked the Democrat Nunn and Republican Lugar for their leadership. He called the two men “visionaries” who “challenged us to think anew” about ways to secure nuclear stockpiles produced during the Cold War. He called the two models for bipartisan cooperation, who showed great integrity, decency and leadership over their long careers.
The program helped to deactivate more than 7,600 nuclear warheads. The program Nunn and Lugar created played a major role in preventing deadly weapons from falling into the wrong hands while the Russian government was facing a severe money crunch amid an economic meltdown and political turmoil that followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
The program is set to expire this spring, and Russia has said it will not be extended without a major overhaul. Obama expressed a willingness to do that.
“Let’s update it,” he said. “Let’s work with Russia as an equal partner. Let’s continue the work that is so important.”
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta presented the award, heaping praise on his former congressional colleagues.
“We can say that the course of history changed for the better because these two men helped the nation confront the threat of nuclear proliferation at the end of the Cold War,” Panetta said. “The world would have been, without question, a far more dangerous and threatening place were it not for these two patriots.”
Nunn and Lugar represent the kind of bipartisan cooperation that is so hard to find in today’s political environment. Their work should be celebrated. It should also be imitated.
Opinion
OUR VIEW: Lugar helped to create safer world
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- THORNS & ROSES: Week of May 16
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WOLFSIE: Writing on the walls
Sometimes when I am trying to think of an idea for my column, I just stare at the wall. That’s not a bad thing, because on the wall in my home office is a collection of special pieces of memorabi-lia that inspire me to write, reminding me of the talented people I have had the privilege to meet.
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HAYDEN: From good to great in education not the way
On the campaign trail last year and early into his administration, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said repeatedly that his goal as governor would be to take Indiana from “good to great.”
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THEIR VIEW: Big Brother looms large in D.C.
The federal government, working under the cloak of secrecy, has been having a heyday at the expense of all Americans.
First we learn the IRS has been targeting conservatives — applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were wrongly singled out for extra scrutiny. -
KITCHELL: Waste-to-energy a big waste of time
Had all of Logansport attended the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists Awards ceremony last month in Indianapolis, we all would have learned that the No. 1 editorial written in the state in the past year was about a subject that sounds familiar to Logansport residents.
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THEIR VIEW: Keep teens safe on the roadways
Indiana was able to achieve welcome decreases in teen-driving deaths after adopting graduated driver’s license laws. But it appears some of the benefits of easing teen drivers more slowly into the responsibilities associated with driving are leveling off.
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MARCUS: Where to put your money
Snail Smith’s real name is Stanley, but his contorted windup and slow pitches gave him the nickname, Snail, during his short baseball career.
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THEIR VIEW: Indiana loses a respected leader
At a time when our nation was deeply divided by war, social upheaval and political corruption, Otis R. “Doc” Bowen brought stability to Indiana in his eight years as governor largely through the strength of his personal integrity. He was respected, revered even, not only by fellow Republicans but also by independents and Democrats for his deep commitment to the state and its people.
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OUR VIEW: Mothers the greatest gift of all
Our mothers help guide us through the world around us, helping us sidestep disaster if at all possible. She holds our hand as we become the person we were meant to be. She knew us from the beginning, and if she had it her way, she’d know us to the very end.
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PUBLIC FORUM: Mayor tells residents of positive change
When the residents of Logansport elected me as their new mayor in November 2011, it was truly an honor.
Our city was battling back from a devastating loss of 1,500 jobs in five years, a recession that wasn’t letting up on the household income of our residents, a divided fire protection commitment in our county and an overall sense of loss in our community. - More Opinion Headlines
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