From the New York Times: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to urge caution when she addresses the ministers on Thursday evening. A senior American official said she would underscore the need for NATO to maintain a deterrent, and for the alliance to act together on this issue. The Obama administration is also pushing for NATO to embrace the American missile-defense system planned for Eastern Europe as a core mission of the alliance.

Some officials worry that the debate over tactical nuclear weapons, if not properly handled, could splinter the alliance — pitting longtime NATO members against newer members like Turkey and the former Soviet satellites, which are more reluctant to see these weapons removed.

“There won’t be any decision on this issue,” said a senior administration official, who characterized the talks as less a debate than a seminar on the changing role of nuclear weapons in today’s world." (photo: Virginia Mayo/AP)

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