Military Leaders and National Security Experts Urge Senate to Ratify New START

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

Stories we're following today, Tuesday, July 20, 2010:

New Consensus on American Security - Joe Cirincione in the Huffington Post [link]

• In a hopeful sign of growing bipartisan support for nuclear reductions, former military commanders and national security officials announced their support today for quick approval of the New START treaty.
• Admiral William Owens, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is "totally convinced the provisions of New START are in the best interests of our country."
• He urged the Senate to "take the bipartisan approach, pass the treaty and show the world the leadership they expect from the United States."
• Owens and Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson joined former senators Gary Hart (D.-CO) and Chuck Hagel (R.-NE) in a press conference launching the new Consensus for American Security.
• Members include 15 retired general officers from all four military services. In addition to the four on the conference call, the list includes former Secretary of State George Shultz, Chief Negotiator of the first START agreement Ambassador Richard Burt, Lieutenant General John Castellaw USMC (Ret), and two dozen other prominent Americans.
• The statesmanship demonstrated by the Consensus members today could help break the partisan blockade in the Senate and restore America's leadership on this urgent security challenge.

Lugar Calls for Passage of "New START" - James Kitfield in the National Journal [link]

• I believe New START is vitally important in terms of our relationship with the Russians at this point in history.
• It's a pretty modest treaty, but the fact is, we are back at the table talking to the Russians again, and the U.S.-Russian relationship has been strengthened as a result in ways that could prove very important to us in the future.
• I believe New START will provide more transparency than START I. New START reflects the fact that the Russians are now really looking for stability, and they want to avoid a race to greater numbers of nuclear weapons.

Take Reagan's Word for It - David Hoffman in Foreign Policy [link]

• The New START treaty is a logical, modest step down the long road of strategic nuclear arms control, led by Republicans from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan.
• The New START treaty locks in equal levels of warheads and launchers, and requires unique numbers on each weapon that can be used for verification. Reagan and Nitze would be wide-eyed with wonder at this achievement.
• Senate Republicans who revere Reagan should see that this treaty is their inheritance. Instead of voting against it to wound Obama, they should adopt the treaty for what it is and focus instead on what's to follow.
• Of all the problems facing the United States today, strategic nuclear competition with Russia is not one of them. Locking down these arsenals is the essence of prudence and conservatism.

Daschle Accuses Romney of Flirting with 'Nuclear Anarchy' - USA Today [link]

• Appearing at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, former Sen. Tom Daschle targeted a Washington Post op-ed in which Romney urged the Senate to reject a proposed new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. America's military leaders favor the update of the 19-year-old pact and with good reason, Daschle said.
• Failing to renew the deal would trigger "nuclear anarchy," Daschle argued, not only by renewing an arms race with Russia, the world's only other nuclear superpower.
• Ratification of the treaty requires 67 votes, which means President Obama will need some Republican support. Republican senators "can choose Mitt Romney or they can choose the entire U.S. military establishment," Daschle said.

Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. Rally for U.S.-Russia Arms Deal - The Hill [link]

• On Monday, Dave Matthews, lead singer of the popular Dave Matthews Band, became the latest musician to publicly sign onto the Global Zero movement, which seeks to eliminate nuclear weapons from the planet.
• The effort sees Senate ratification of the START treaty as a crucial step toward that goal.
• Other musicians who have joined the Global Zero team of late include Michael Bolton, Macy Gray, Trent Reznor, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Maroon 5, Steve Earle, OK Go, Michael Franti, They Might Be Giants and Weezer, among others.
• The impetus behind START’s newfound popularity among artists can be traced directly to Lawrence Bender’s soon-to-be released film, “Countdown to Zero,” which opens this Friday in Washington and New York City.

A View from the Dark Side

START the Debate, Stop the Name-Calling - Peter Brookes in The National Review Online [link]

• The Left is desperately trying to convince us that Senate ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is inevitable, but, as Henry Sokolski points out, the real debate is only beginning.
• Chiefly, experts are troubled that New START will lock America into all the wrong commitments at a time when the threat of nuclear and missile proliferation is actually growing (e.g. Iran), not receding.
• New START’s deficiencies include giving a lopsided strategic advantage to Russia, reminiscent of classic Cold War–era geopolitics.
• Now is not the time for tossing around hollow epithets; it is a time for addressing the problems in this treaty that will leave America less secure.