Next week's nuclear summit targets unsecured bomb material

Many look back at August 6th,1945 as the dawn of the nuclear era when the United States dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima. Now, US President Barack Obama wants to write a new chapter in the world's nuclear history. Dozens of world leaders will gather in Washington next week for an unprecedented meeting on nuclear security, hoping they can agree on how to keep atomic bombs out of terrorists' hands.

For President Obama, the signing of a new arms deal with Russia was an opening round when it comes to the global response to nuclear issues.

Obama siad, "Nuclear weapons are not just an issue for the United States and Russia. They threaten the common security of all nations. So next week 47 nations will come together in Washington to discuss concrete steps that can be taken to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years."

Most experts think the timing of the meeting is critical.

Joe Cirincione, Professor Georgetown University, said ,"This tipping point means that over the next couple of years countries will make decisions that will either keep us on a course going down, or trigger a new wave of proliferation and arms races." We don't know which way the story is going to turn out."

Although the gathering of nearly four dozen countries will not focus on individual nations, the nuclear programs of Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and possible new UN sanctions against Tehran -- are expected to come up in Obama's bilateral meetings.

Also on the agenda are plans to join together a group of countries with nuclear programs to gather up dangerous atomic material from vulnerable nuclear, defense and medical sites worldwide.

A draft communique has been circulated to countries attending the summit. The draft text will likely be revised before it is adopted at the end of the April 12th and 13th meeting. If successful, the summit can send a strong signal that the international community is united in boosting nuclear security worldwide.