my name is richard burt and i'm a member of the global zero commission. the commission held its first meeting here in washington, d.c. today. global zero is an international movement focused on nuclear arms control but specifically dedicated to the total elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide. an idea that has gained significant traction from the time early this year when we held a large meeting in paris, an international meeting in paris, to begin the process of outlining a realistic plan to get to zero. as you all know, president obama and president medvedev endorsed strongly the idea of global zero and the total elimination of nuclear weapons when -- in their first meeting in london in april. they jointly enunciated this goal. since that time in separate speeches, president obama has fleshed out his vision. president medvedev and prime minister putin have also endorsed this goal and again, as you all know, president obama and president medvedev will be meeting again soon in moscow. our group, as other groups, is focusing on the importance of nuclear