Kyl Tries to Make Something out of Nothing on New START and Missile Defense (Again)
Senators Jon Kyl, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman sent a letter to National Security Advisor James Jones expressing concern that the Russians are continuing to seek limits on U.S. missile defenses in the context of the soon-to-be-completed START follow-on negotiations, according to a Nukes of Hazard analysis by the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, a Ploughshares Fund grantee.
The letter was apparently prompted by reports that the Russians plan to release a statement declaring that they have a right to unilaterally withdraw from the new treaty if they determine that “strategic stability” is upset by U.S. missile defense deployments. Jonathan Kaplan, a spokesman for Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher, told the Cable’s Josh Rogin yesterday that “Anybody who knows anything about treaties knows that it is customary to be able to withdraw for reasons pertaining to one's national interest, so there's nothing new or diabolical here.”
Nukes of Hazard, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
