Report
2 February 2011
President Obama formally signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty this morning, after the Senate gave bipartisan approval to the accord in December. On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will bring the treaty into force: reinstating a stringent verification regime of inspections and data exchanges after a yearlong lapse. The completion of New START marks a significant accomplishment and offers an opportunity for the U.S. and its partners to build upon this success. The nuclear security agenda has already made the U.S. and its allies safer and stronger-its next steps to limit the spread and production of nuclear material, and further reduce weapons, deserve the same bipartisan support.
Press Release
Washington, D.C. 22 December 2010
The National Security Network welcomes the Senate's decision to pass the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Today's vote was the culmination of months of bipartisan effort, with senior national security, military and religious leaders, to chart an effective course for American national security. The treaty's passage exemplifies a move away from Cold War thinking and toward more effective action to combat 21st-century threats. It is a strong signal to our friends and foes around the world, creating momentum for global action to combat real, present threats to American security, including Iran, North Korea and nuclear terrorism. It affirms strong and decisive American leadership on those issues, whereas delay or defeat would have sent a signal that America was unprepared to lead.
Report
20 December 2010
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a motion on Sunday night that paves the way for a cloture vote on New START on Tuesday. Senators are now entering their sixth day of debate on the treaty. Critics have proposed 42 amendments - seven times the norm - many of which propose amending the text of the treaty, a step which the Senate has never taken on an arms control treaty and which it would not accept from its Russian counterpart. New START has been thoroughly vetted and now debated for as long as START I and longer than START II and the Moscow Treaty combined. It is time for senators to do what is right for America's national security and ratify this treaty.
Report
17 December 2010
As the Senate enters its third day of debate on New START, top military and national security officials continued to call for its prompt ratification. Even as Republican leadership aides agree that it is "very likely" the treaty will be ratified, a fringe group of conservatives has opted to take on our national security establishment over the treaty. But procedural delays have replaced substantive debates, and the most trenchant opposition comes from figures who have not been involved in the debate - a slew of undeclared 2012 presidential candidates. As the Senate waits to debate any substantive amendments to the treaty, a larger trend is unfolding as conservatives struggle to define their national security platform against solid expert agreement on the way forward.
Report
15 December 2010
The New START accord comes to the floor later today with Senate leadership affirming that it has the 67 votes required, and more days for debate than past treaties have required. The treaty enjoys the unanimous backing of the United States military leadership and overwhelming bipartisan support. It has now been over a year since we've had U.S. inspectors on the ground in Russia to inspect its nuclear facilities. New START preserves our ability to deploy effective missile defenses; it is accompanied by unprecedented long-term funding to ensure our nuclear stockpile remains safe, secure and effective; and it will reinstate a stringent verification regime that our military planners say is essential. What is debated on the Senate floor will be less about the treaty itself and more about two visions of our national security: the tested, pragmatic views of our national security leaders versus the views of a small ideological fringe.
Report
7 December 2010
With today's endorsement from Condoleezza Rice, every living former secretary of state now supports New START. Last week, the secretaries of state for the past five Republican presidents laid out the case for ratification, with Colin Powell unequivocally stating, "I fully support this treaty and I hope that the Senate will give its advice and consent to the ratification of the treaty as soon as possible." With the unanimous backing of the United States military leadership and overwhelming bipartisan support, now is the time to ratify New START. This past weekend marked the one-year point of the expiration of the original START accord - meaning it has now been 367 days since we've had U.S. inspectors on the ground in Russia to inspect its nuclear facilities. New START preserves our ability to deploy effective missile defenses; it is accompanied by unprecedented long-term funding to ensure our nuclear stockpile remains safe, secure and effective; and it will reinstate a stringent verification regime that our military planners say is essential. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO, has urged the Senate to support America's 27 NATO allies and ratify New START. The world is waiting; it is time for the Senate to act.
Report
2 December 2010
This morning Henry A. Kissinger, George P. Shultz, James A. Baker III, Lawrence S. Eagleburger and Colin L. Powell join a long list of military and national security leaders calling for the ratification of New START. Speaking yesterday at the White House, Gen. Powell, the former secretary of state, national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs who worked under three Republican presidents, unequivocally stated, "I fully support this treaty and I hope that the Senate will give its advice and consent to the ratification of the treaty as soon as possible." And the directors of our nation's three national laboratories once again confirmed that they are "very pleased" with the administration's plan to ensure that our nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe, secure and effective.
As the secretaries of state for the past five Republican presidents made clear, the accord has been thoroughly vetted and all substantive issues have been laid to rest. They write, "we urge the Senate to ratify the New START treaty signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev... The defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the head of the Missile Defense Agency - all originally appointed by a Republican president - argue that New START is essential for our national defense."
Report
1 December 2010
Over the past seven months, a little-noticed stream of bipartisanship has flowed through the United States Senate. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have shepherded the New START accord through an intensive review process and built strong, bipartisan support for the treaty from our nation's most respected military and national security leaders.
Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is among the long list of military leaders who have urged the Senate to ratify New START. Admiral Mullen advised, "This is a national security issue of great significance. And the sooner we get it done, the better." This week, several prominent conservative senators have swung their support behind Mullen and his fellow national security experts - ignoring opponents who are attempting to re-raise objections that have already been answered or dismissed. As Sen. Lugar explained last month, "Every senator has an obligation in the national security interest to take a stand, to do his or her duty. Maybe people would prefer not to do his or her duty right now," he said. "Sometimes when you prefer not to vote, you attempt to find reasons not to vote." This week, Sen. Kerry implored his colleagues to finish their work. "It is this Congress that has done the work on this treaty. It is we senators here and now, who have the constitutional responsibility to deal with this treaty. It is this Congress that has gone to these hearings, conducted this analysis, read these documents. We are the senators who have the responsibility to vote. Let's get to work."
Report
22 November 2010
This weekend's startling revelation about North Korea's enrichment program highlights the threat posed by nuclear weapons-and the need to take this threat seriously. Siegfried S. Hecker, the American scientist who toured North Korea's new enrichment facility, said he was "stunned" by the sophistication of the North's new plant. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Michael Mullen said over the weekend that "the development of nuclear weapons is a huge concern for all of us, those in the region, as well as those around the globe... I've been worried about North Korea and its potential nuclear capability for a long time. This certainly gives that potential real life, very visible life that we all ought to be very, very focused on."
The weekend's NATO Summit made clear that our allies and foes alike are watching the New START ratification process for a signal on whether American leadership will be strong or muted when it comes to controlling nuclear weapons. North Korea and Iran, Russia and Central Europe won't wait for months to see what kind of signal a new Congress sends. As Admiral Mullen concluded, "This is a national security issue of great significance. And the sooner we get it done, the better." But the response from some conservatives seems to be that nothing is more important than the optics of denying President Obama a victory. Retired Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson, the former deputy commander of U.S. nuclear forces, said Friday that it was "quite puzzling to me why all of this support [for New START]... is ignored. I don't know what that says about the trust that people have and the confidence they have in our military." Russia still has thousands of nuclear weapons that are aimed at U.S. cities. Our military leadership recognizes the importance of reinstating critical verification provisions and getting U.S. inspectors back in Russia to inspect Russian nuclear facilities.
Report
17 November 2010
The politics of New START are confusing, but the national security facts are not.
America's entire military leadership, and dozens of senior, bipartisan national security figures, continue to stress the importance of ratifying New START this year. The original START Treaty - and its extensive verification regime - expired last year, leaving strategic stability between the world's two largest nuclear powers, and the prospect of significant cuts to Russia's arsenal, in the balance.
Yesterday, Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) cast doubt on the ratification process - but this morning he tells CNN, "We're talking. In good faith," while Sen. Lugar (R-IN) issued a call to action: "We're talking today about the national security of the United States of America," he said. "We're at a point where we're unlikely to have either the treaty or modernization unless we get real." Military and national security leaders reiterated the nonpartisan case for action - get boots back on the ground to inspect Russian nuclear facilities. Senators must put partisan politics aside and find the time to ratify New START.
