US Senate Passes New START Treaty
Key US-Russia arms agreement is ratified by the Senate 71-26
“The ratification of the New START treaty is an affirmation of the Senate’s commitment to America’s national security.”
– Dr. Jim Ludes, Executive Director of the American Security Project
WASHINGTON, D.C., 22 December 2010 – The Consensus for American Security today announced its gratitude to the US Senate for its leadership on the ratification of the New START Treaty.
The New START Treaty is a triumph of reasoned and principled discourse, and a reflection of the seriousness of the Senate’s commitment to the security of the American people.
The New START Treaty helps to establish a transparent, predictable and stable relationship between the US and Russia—the countries that collectively hold 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. The ratification of this treaty creates momentum for more powerful global action on key security threats such as Iran, North Korea and other nuclear proliferation challenges. This is major step towards more effective action against 21st century threats.
What Does Senate Approval of the New START Treaty Mean?
- A Strong Deterrent: The New START treaty increases our national security and assures important improvements in the nuclear security infrastructure of this country. The treaty maintains our strong nuclear deterrent.
- Verification: The treaty includes a robust verification regime that will give our inspectors on the ground access to Russian nuclear weapons facilities.
- Modernization: The treaty will allow us to modernize our nuclear weapons and their delivery systems efficiently and effectively.
- Global Strike: The New START Treaty will allow us to devote resources away from the weapons we do not need to the capabilities we do, including prompt global strike.
- Missile Defense: The treaty provides measure for us to continue investing in our strong missile defense system.
The New START Treaty garnered nonpartisan support from our respected national security community, including the leadership of the US military.
The Consensus for American Security thanks the US Senate for its leadership on the ratification of the New START Treaty today.
