We simply cannot allow the twenty-first century to be darkened by the worst weapons of the twentieth century.… It took decades—and extraordinary sums of money—to build those arsenals. It’s going to take decades—and continued investments—to dismantle them.… It’s painstaking work. It rarely makes the headlines. But I want each of you to know … missile by missile, warhead by warhead, shell by shell, we’re putting a bygone era behind us.… We’re moving closer to the future we seek. A future where these weapons never threaten our children again. A future where we know the security and peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, WASHINGTON, D.C. | DECEMBER 3, 2012