Pentagon defends planned arms cuts

An article by Tom Collina in the Ploughshares-funded Arms Control Association journal, Arms Control Today, reports that the Pentagon, responding to criticism that the START follow-on treaty should wait until the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is completed, announced the U.S. negotiating positions for New START had been cleared by the NPR interagency process. Administration critics argued President Obama should not have committed to lower arsenal levels at his July 6 meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, given that the NPR has not been completed.  However, the Department of Defense disputed that point. The NPR is examining how to continue to provide extended deterrence to U.S. allies “in a manner consistent with the long-term goal of eliminating nuclear weapons,” the department added.