The decreasing reliance but increasingly safe, secure, & effective paradox

The central problem facing the nuclear agenda as it moves forward is how to square Obama's Prague declaration that

I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.

with his statement that

As long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies

The S&T complex in the United States is facing some serious problem (yesterday's post has a good discussion on the issue) but turning the tide may prove even more difficult as the U.S. seeks to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons.  It will be increasingly difficult to recruit the "best and brightest" to careers in the field because many in the labs are already feeling insecure about their jobs.  Likewise, shoring up the military complacency that caused the Minot base incident and accidental shipping of fuses to Taiwan is not easy if the message sent to the military is that these weapons are Cold War relics on their way out.  Bradley Thayer and Thomas Skypek's answer to the challenge is an aggressive defense of modernization (a word with substantial baggage attached).  They explain:

If U.S. nuclear forces were a stock, its price would have collapsed in the 1990s, and its value would remain near an all-time low. Yet nuclear modernization is a non-negotiable imperative if the United States wishes to achieve its grand strategic goals into the future, including credible extended deterrence commitments to allies like Japan and South Korea. Given the time required to develop these complicated systems, and the period needed to integrate them into the force, modernization must begin immediately.

The political reality in Washington, however, is that m-word programs will be a tough sell with the Congressional balance of power and Obama's campaign pledge for no "new" weapons.  At the same time, the SSP program is not cheap and with START numbers looking like they will be 1500ish that leaves the Obama administration with some serious planning to determine how to make the deterrent "safe, secure, and effective" at home and abroad if he won't give in to Gates' wish for RRW or other similar programs.