Today’s Q’s for O’s WH – 4/12/2010

We're at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, and we were briefed by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan about the summit and an announcement they made about Ukraine. (Read more about that HERE.)

TAPPER:  I have a question for you and a couple for Mr. Brennan. You said that Ukraine is committed to have — having all this highly enriched uranium disposed of by the time of the next nuclear security summit.  When is the next nuclear security summit?

GIBBS:  2012.  We'll announce likely tomorrow the location for that.

TAPPER:  OK.  And then, Mr. Brennan, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative that Ukraine has almost 70 kilograms of highly enriched uranium at the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology; 13.2 at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kiev, and up to 6.1 at the Sevastopol Naval Research Institute. Is that what you're talking about? That's all going to be disposed of?  Or is there additional highly enriched uranium that we don't know about?

GIBBS:  I would say that, if my math is correct, there's roughly 90 kilograms.  I'm under the impression that it's actually more than that.  I don't want to get into a specific amount.  It's enough, as I said, for the construction of several nuclear weapons, and I would say many, many times greater than the amount that was recovered from Chile, although that obviously was an important announcement in ensuring that any of that highly enriched uranium is now under lock and key.

TAPPER:  Can I have one more crack at Mr. Brennan?

GIBBS:  Sure.

TAPPER:  The — Gibbs said that — Mr. Gibbs said that the United States has been trying to do this for 10 years.  What made the difference?  Why is it happening now?

BRENNAN:  There has been an effort over many years to try to ensure that nuclear materials are going to be safeguarded. This was one of the priority items that President Obama had when he entered office.  And there has been a lot of work that has been done over the past 15 months in order to get to this point today where we can bring together so many major world leaders who recognize that there is a threat out there and it requires collective action. Because terrorist groups and international criminal organizations will look for the weakest link in a chain.  And that's why it's so critically important that all countries take their responsibility seriously.

-jpt