George Shultz and Sam Nunn: "We Strongly Endorse the Goals of This Treaty"

July 16, 2010

4 Statesmen 2_0.jpg

Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today, Friday, July 16, 2010:

George Shultz and Sam Nunn Express Strong Support for New START Treaty - Nuclear Threat Initiative [link]

NOTE: The following appeared in identical letters to Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senator Richard Lugar, the committee's ranking member.
The potential use of nuclear weapons is one of the gravest dangers the world faces.
The two of us want to make clear our support for New START and express our hope that the Committee can now move expeditiously with their reporta and a vote recommending New START for consideration by the full Senate.
We strongly endorse the goals of this Treaty--to achieve a near-term reduction of nuclear weapons with mutually agreed verification procedures.
Noting the full support of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and following our own review of the Treaty, we urge the Senate to give its advice and consent to ratification of New START as early as is feasible.

START Now - Joe Cirincione for TakePart's blog [link]

The Senate must act quickly to ratify [the New START treaty], and you must act, too.
You can shape the Senate’s decision. To start, let your senators know how you feel through a phone call, letter, or e-mail. You can tell your senators that they have an obligation to keep America safe.
Social media can also play a role. For instance, Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—the Senate committee through which New START must pass before it can be ratified. You can write on Senator Corker’s Facebook wall here to let him know why he should vote yes on the New START treaty.
If I did not believe one person could make a difference in nuclear policy, I would have left this field long ago. But after 25 years as a nuclear policy expert, I know we can influence the outcome of this important vote.
The New START treaty is a crucial first step in creating a more secure future for our children, our country, and the world. Join me in making our voices heard. Let’s start something powerful.

In From the Cold? U.S.-Russian Relations - David Ignatius in The Washington Post [link]

This month we've had a reminder of the Cold War espionage legacy that still hangs over the U.S.-Russian relationship like a murky gray cloak. But in a strange coincidence we've also seen some dramatic evidence of the strategic "reset" in Russian-American relations -- from implacable enmity to at least occasional partnership.
The new face (and you have to decide whether it's sincere) came in a speech Monday in Moscow by President Dmitry Medvedev to a conference of Russian ambassadors. It amounts to a comprehensive Kremlin endorsement of the reset that the Obama administration has been trying to achieve with Moscow.
The choice for Russia and America now is how to use this fledgling partnership. If Obama is bold, he will help Russia become a truly modern nation.
This kind of genuine alliance would be horrible for spy novelists -- who would read a buddy novel about cooperative Russian and American agents? But it would be good for both countries and the world.

The Senate's Dereliction of Duty a Danger to U.S. Leadership - Heather Hamilton in The Hill [link]

We must not lose sight of a glaring problem in our national security: the impact that the U.S. failure to join major multilateral treaties has on our capacity to exercise global leadership.
The rest of the world will continue negotiating multilateral treaties to shape vital international issues — with or without the United States.
This position is dangerous. Each of the threats we face today — terrorism, climate change, poverty, infectious diseases — can only be solved through global efforts and global rules.
For example, while we no longer need to use explosive nuclear weapons testing, our failure to join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty undermines our capacity to convince other countries to live up to their nonproliferation obligations.
It is critically important the Senate demonstrates that the U.S. will have a say in writing the rules of the world. Failure to do so risks undermining our capacity to achieve our national security goals.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You - Kelly Bronk for Prague Project [link]

Countdown to Zero is a captivating new documentary about the threat that nuclear weapons pose to all of us.
Countdown breaks down each of these opportunities for catastrophe, highlighting al-Qaeda’s quest to buy, steal or build a bomb, the havoc AQ Khan’s proliferation network has unleashed on the international system, and mistakes that even the extremely well-trained and professional U.S. military have made with nuclear weapons.
As John Anderson of Variety magazine writes, the film is a “politically urgent picture” that will “literally scare the breath out of what will certainly be a worldwide audience.”
It’s a must-see film. But don’t just take my word for it. Ok Go, Maroon 5, REM, Pearl Jam and Weezer all want you to see it, too.

Reminder: Worry About Nukes - The Rachel Maddow Show [link]

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow discusses Countdown to Zero with executive producer Lawrence Bender. Rachel's bottom line: Go see the movie.