Hagel, Russian lawmakers applaud new START

Ploughshares Fund board member, former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) hosted Russian and American politicians Wednesday to discuss the diplomatic potential of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, told the conference that START was a steppingstone for "moving away from mutual assured destruction to mutually assured stability."  "I am sick and tired of resetting our relations every four or every eight years," said Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia. "I would like to see sustained, ongoing cooperation."