Standing the New START treaty on its head.
START Stopper
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New START
U.S. and Russia: Where’s the Reset?
When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, U.S.-Russian relations were strained and delicate. Arms control agreements had all but disintegrated and acrimonious conflict had largely displaced cooperation. Indeed several observers, including Mikhail Gorbachev, even went so far as to proclaim the emergence of a new Cold War.
Obama’s Approach to Disarmament as Self-Sabotaging as Debt-Ceiling Deal
In the end, as with the debt-ceiling deal, Republicans rejected some of what the Obama administration lavished on them, almost as if it were too much of a good thing.
Casting Credibility to Winds, Republicans Attempt to Disarm Disarmament
After reluctantly passing New START, Republicans now seek to cripple it before it gets off the ground.
Nuclear Disarmament Would Make U.S. Undisputed Arms Champ
Is overwhelming superiority in conventional weapons the main reason for the apparent interest of the United States in nuclear disarmament?
A New Start on Treaties
The United States is a bit schizophrenic when it comes to treaties. The U.S. government does a great job negotiating them. From the International Criminal Court to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, U.S. diplomats have forged very constructive compromises on major human rights and security agreements. Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate has a history of letting these accords molder. The Senate and the White House still have a long list of treaties that are overdue for ratification. Here are seven lessons from the New START experience for policymakers to consider as they move forward.
Thanks to New START, You Too Can “Ride Out” a Nuclear Attack
U.S. nuclear-war policy has always been poised between deterrence — riding out a nuclear attack before responding — and launch on warning — an itchy trigger finger.
Nuclear Weapons Just Not Sexy Anymore
It’s becoming more and more difficult to interest young officers and scientists in nuclear weapons.
Negotiating with Evil
Given the title of this week’s World Beat, perhaps you expected an essay on North Korea or another vilified U.S. adversary and violator of all human decency.
Actually, I was referring to Jon Kyl. Those who dismiss the value of negotiating with North Korea insist that the country makes unreasonable demands, never has any intention of compromising, and violates any agreement that it ultimately signs. Funny, this sounds a lot like the hard-line Republicans in the last Congress.
Does Prague Stop With START?
The difficulty getting New START passed means ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty isn’t happening anytime soon.