Page 41 - Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Abstract: Ambiguous language on strategic missile defense in the preamble of the recently signed strategic arms reduction treaty (New START) has prompted some Senators to request access to the negotiation records for the treaty. However, the Obama Administration and Democrat Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have denied all such requests, claiming precedent for not providing such access. In fact, Senate precedent supports granting the request because the language in question is ambiguous and has already prompted dueling statements from the U.S.

U.S.-Russian relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War, and many trends in Russian foreign policy are justifiably disturbing. U.S. officials should develop a comprehensive strategythat serves America's objectives, keeping in mind the significantinternal vulnerabilities of the Russian state. Russia, given itslack of strategic allies, can ill afford to "lose" the West.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia is set to expire on February 5, 2021. The treaty officially restricts the number of delivery systems and warheads that each country can deploy, and technically provides a monitoring and verification regime—but the treaty’s many flaws have allowed Russia to build up its forces without even violating the treaty. Arms control advocates have encouraged the President to extend New START for another five years, but extending a flawed treaty would only create a false sense of security.

In April 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Six years later, an analysis of New START’s impact on U.S. national security is as timely as it is instructive. New START has not accomplished the Administration’s main goal of providing predictability and strategic stability between Russia and the United States.

We need it in this present moment, even in the midst of the war in Ukraine.