Nuclear Security
Taking Another Look at the Nuclear Arsenal
February 21, 2012
As a bipartisan majority of living secretaries of defense and state as well as national security advisers encourages the president to make another round of cuts in our nuclear arsenal, the White House has tasked the Pentagon with a nuclear posture review of the kind carried out by its predecessors. Reports indicate that the Pentagon [...]
New START to Enter Into Force
February 2, 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.
120 Bombs’ Worth of Nuclear Material Secured
January 4, 2011
The simplest way to combat nuclear proliferation and the threat of nuclear terrorism is to destroy or lock down the material that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Since April 2009, when President Obama pledged to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years, six countries have given up all such materials and enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium have been secured to make more than 120 nuclear weapons. While the Senate debated the New START agreement, and the country celebrated the holidays, two major operations secured materials in Ukraine and Serbia. Locking down materials fits with the New START signing and other 2010 achievements to bolster the momentum for global action to combat real, present threats to American security, including Iran, North Korea and nuclear terrorism.
NSN Statement on Passage of the New START Treaty
December 22, 2010
Washington, D.C – 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 [...]
New START Headed for a Vote
December 20, 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.
The Senate Works Through START
December 17, 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 [...]
New START vs. The Fringe
December 15, 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.
Now is the Time to Ratify New START
December 7, 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.
Heavyweights Throw Momentum Behind New START
December 2, 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.
U.S. Senators: Get to Work
December 1, 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.
