Senate Advances START Nuclear Weapons Treaty

By Douglas V. Gibbs

This lame duck session of Congress is getting more and more dangerous with each passing moment. The Senate has voted to end debate on the Nuclear Weapons and Arms Treaty with Russia, and the final vote is expected Wednesday. In order for the treaty to be ratified, 66 votes will be necessary. 67 "yes" votes advanced the treaty today, with eleven of those "yes" votes being Republicans.

The START treaty is filled with dangerous provisions that puts our national security at serious risk, including a compromise against our missile defense technology. Obama, last week in a letter to the U.S. Senate, indicated the missile defense system is not on the table in the treaty, but language in the preamble of the treaty, and in the body, suggests that it is. Besides, since when is a promise by Obama worth anything? He never closed Guantanamo Bay like he promised. Unemployment surpassed the 8% level Obama promised would be the maximum. Obama said the individual mandate in the Health Care legislation was not a tax, yet his lawyers have been claiming the exact opposite in court. So, Senators on both sides of the aisle should realize that their man in the White House is not honest in the first place, and cannot be trusted.

Obama, despite his promise that he will not surrender the missile defense system, has never liked the vital technology. Within months after assuming office, the Obama Administration announced a $1.4 billion cut to missile defense. President Obama then installed long-time anti-missile defense crusader Phillip Coyle as Associate Director for National Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology.

The START Treaty is bad for national security, is an agreement between two untrustworthy leaders (Obama and Putin), and despite the President's assurances, places at risk our anti-missile defense technology.

And to believe that Russia will reduce their nuclear arsenal as we do is pure folly. This will result, if we hold our end of the bargain, in a unilateral reduction of arms.

Today's advancement of START is a bad decision by a bad lame duck Senate.

Added Note: At the time of this posting Senate is debating amendments to the Treaty.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Senate Advances Arms Treaty, 67-2 - New York Times

Gates' Proposed Missile Defense Cuts: Confusion and Contradictions - Heritage Foundation

Obama bypasses Senate to fill Medicare post (Obama also named Philip Coyle as associate director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology) - WTAQ News Talk