New START has New Support
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) signed by the United States and Russia on April 8, 2010 has gained substantial bipartisan support:
• Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) said, “I support the New START treaty and believe that it will enhance United Stated national security.”
• Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates stated, “The US is far better off with this treaty than without it.”
• Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, “The Cold War ended almost twenty years ago, and the time has come to take further measures to reduce dramatically the number of nuclear weapons in the world's arsenals.”
The Senate is preparing for formal hearings on New START to begin this week. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to testify on Tuesday. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III is due before the committee on Wednesday.
Simultaneously, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is underway (May 3-28). The United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia have been discussing plans to improve the NPT so that it better protects against nuclear threats of the 21st century.
How does the new START increase US and international security? Will START allow the US to maintain its arsenal? Can we trust Russia to abide by the treaty? Will START or the NPT conference address Iran’s nuclear program?
