Politics today is a "us against them" mentality. Business of late is to shut down any policy administered by the left ir-regaurdless of merit or sustenance. If the Republicans follow this sentiment and fail to ratify New START treaty, they will be making a huge mistake that could have dreadful consequences for national security.
The New START Treaty (for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) (Russian: СНВ-III) is a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation that was signed in Prague on April 8, 2010. It is a follow-up to the 1991 START I treaty, which expired in December 2009, and to START II and the 2002 Treaty of Moscow (SORT), which was due to expire in December 2012. Prolonged talks were conducted by U.S. and Russian delegations in Geneva, led on the American side by U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary Rose Gottemoeller. The Russian delegation was headed by Anatoly Antonov, director of security and disarmament at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev then announced on 26 March 2010 that they had reached an agreement. The new treaty was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague by Obama and Medvedev.
The speed bump in the road for passage is a fellow alumni of mine. Arizona senator Jon Kyl said on November 17, 2010 he didn't think the issue should be considered this year, citing a busy Senate agenda and the complexity of the treaty. Democrats are unlikely to be able to move forward without his support. Sen. Jon Kyl, the leading Republican senator on the New START agreement, who has demanded more funds for the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a condition for approving the treaty. The White House proposed adding $4.1 billion to modernize the arsenal and officials traveled to Kyl's home state to sell the pact, according to a congressional aide. But the senator wasn't sufficiently impressed.
Kyl's support is crucial because a number of his Republican colleagues have said they will follow his lead on the treaty. Why, because most republicans have a hard time for thinking for themselves.
Kyl has maintained that boosting funding for the stockpile would ease Republican concerns about the treaty by demonstrating that the administration is serious about maintaining a robust U.S. nuclear deterrent. The treaty would reduce U.S. and Russian limits on strategic warheads to 1,550 for each country from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also would set up new procedures to allow both countries to inspect each other's arsenals to verify compliance.
Failure to win passage could trip up one of the administration's top foreign policy goals: improving relations with Russia. The treaty, signed in April by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, has been the most tangible sign of success, and failure to get it ratified could be viewed as a rebuke in Moscow. It also would leave Obama's push for even greater restrictions on the world's nuclear arsenal in doubt.
Kyl's rejection of fast action will likely set the treaty back at least for months because Republicans will probably demand new hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee so that newly elected lawmakers are briefed.
Yes we have to train newly elected tea bags on policies, amendments, and law before we can move our country forward. As if we can afford to wait on the axis of idiots, and the know-nothings to get up to speed, [when this is something they should have learned in high school].
This treaty is fundamental to our nations security. President Obama said “A failure to ratify New START would be a dangerous gamble with America’s national security, setting back our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons, as well as our leadership in the world.”
Daily we hear Saranoya Palin squawking about "Nation Security". If there is one issue that should unite us, certainly it has to be the security of our country.
Every President since Ronald Regan has ensured a treaty with Russia.
It would appear that the republican regime would rather screw the world for ensuring that Obama is only a one term President.
The ignorance of the right is never more prevalent than with this treaty.
The treaty has the overwhelming support of the military and national security professionals (from both Democratic and Republican administrations), including former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger and former Defense Secretaries William Cohen and James Schlesinger, among others.
Get off your ass Senator Kyl and ratify the treaty!
Roger West
NFTOS Editor in Chief
