Problems With New START and Missile Defense

The United States seems intent in pursuing a vote and ratification

on the New START Treaty, in the full Senate in November, despite serious objections on missile defense by Russia. Unless a separate agreement is made between the US and Russia on missile defense Russia may well not ratify the New START Treaty. Or if Russia does ratify the treaty it may withdraw from it if the US pursues missile defense developments in Russia's region of the world- which is likely. The US plans for missile defense expansion now includes Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania (as well as at least 6 Middle East countries).

To say that the US is ignoring and disrespecting Russia would be true yet an understatement as well. For as the New START Treaty speaks about reducing nuclear weapons by both nations as well as nuclear verification rules for nuclear weapons and plants by both sides, and other nuclear reduction rules and regulations, the United States is strongly increasing its nuclear facilities as well as designing plans for producing new and more powerful nuclear warheads and weapons. Funding for these developments have already been approved by the Obama Administration and Congress.

So, as the New START Treaty is being negotiated by the Senate

and possibly the Duma in Russia the US is increasing it's missile defense deployments in Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as

increasing and improving it's nuclear facilities and warheads while Russia objections continue to go unheeded. Cautionary perspectives and proposals by NGO groups and activists in the United States have been communicated to the Obama administration and Congress in recent months (actually over the last few years) to little or no avail.

It seems no one is listening to any serious desires for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in the US government or military. The US nuclear industry is gaining very large contracts and profits to come from the current hawkish policies of the US government - much to the future dangers to the billions of people in the world threatened more now with the increased proliferation of nuclear weapons, missile defense (offensive) systems.

The New START Treaty is in trouble despite accolades by members of the Senate and negotiators of the treaty such as Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller along with the US administration and State Department. By ignoring the real concerns of the Russian government and military as well as thousands of peace activists in the world the US is dooming the Treaty before it is even ratified.

Speaking yesterday to the U.N. General Assembly's Disarmament and International Security Committee, Gottemoeller said the United States and other nations would together consider other possible avenues for advancing arms control dialog. (Lederer, Associated Press).

Meanwhile, Russia yesterday pressed all nuclear-armed nations to join future arms reduction negotiations with Moscow and Washington, Interfax reported.

"The reduction in the gap in the size of the arsenals of our countries, and other [recognized nuclear-weapon states], is insistently raising the issue of the gradual accession of other countries having nuclear arsenals to the Russian-American disarmament efforts," Russian Foreign Ministry official Anatoly Antonov, the top Russian negotiator of "New START," told the General Assembly panel.

The five recognized nuclear powers are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Continued nuclear disarmament "will be simply impossible at a certain stage" without the participation of countries that possess such weapons outside the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Antonov said. Those known or suspected nuclear-armed states are India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan (see related GSN story, today).

Arsenal reductions mandated by "New START" would make "further deep cuts impossible without due account for all other processes taking place in the sphere of international security," Antonov said.

Other potential obstacles to nuclear disarmament include "the formation of regional missile defense systems without due account for the security of neighboring countries, the prospect of the appearance of arms in space, the plans of developing strategic carriers with conventional warheads, the unilateral buildup of the potential of strategic missile defense, the growing imbalance in the sphere of conventional armaments [and] the deployment of nuclear weapons in the territories of non-nuclear states," he said

(see GSN, Sept. 22; Interfax, Oct. 5: Obama Administration Pursues Landslide "New START" Vote, Wednesday, below)

In order to set a new course on nuclear weapons and missile defense developments that makes sense and has a chance for success a new mindset needs to be cultivated with the United States government, military and nuclear industry. This mindset needs to include a genuine interest and desire for nuclear reductions and non-proliferation which includes the concerns of Russia, the other 7 (seven) nuclear nations, and the many

non-nuclear nations as well. An effort that would include the

United Nations would make a great deal of sense for all parties and the world community.

Already cooperative plans for missile defense between the US, NATO and Russia have been discussed and a high level NATO meeting in Lisbon in November is meant to clarify and set policy for NATO's position on missile defense in Europe. This will play a strong part in any negotiations with the US and Russia on reductions or any further expansion of missile defense by the US.

While there will be an opportunity to gain more stability in the region if there is a cooperative arrangement worked out, the opposite is also possible.

If Russia is slighted or ignored she will most likely respond with threats of missile deployments of her own in the region and even pursue a 'asymmetric response' announced by one of Russia's noted scientists and political analysts recently. Therefore, it is critical that the US reduce it's missile defense plans in Europe in order to facilitate a successful New START Treaty and more stability in the Eastern and Southern European regions. This may require new policy by the Obama administration which would likely upset the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Robert Gates who seem intent on making the expansion of missile defense worldwide a priority.

It has been shown that missile defense is, in fact, not a strong deterrent. in effect it induces an arms race for building a stronger defense by other nations rather than defending or stabilizing a region. The US therefore needs to change course by reducing the missile defense deployments and expand diplomacy and non-violent means of cooperation in troubled situations and regions of the world. The use of conflict resolution and other techniques would be especially helpful in bringing people together, working out differences in cooperative and non-violent ways.

For decades now the United States has increased world militarization with bases and troop deployments in many countries of the world as well as engagements in wars and conflicts seemingly without short-term resolutions or endings. This has caused an increase in arms races and the buildup of tensions in the world as well as the tremendous expansion of the US military-industrial-complex. Hundreds of countries are now armed "to the teeth" trying to ensure they have adequate defense against unknown enemies who someday might be aggressive against them.

The US provides most of these arms sales throughout the world.

The US has a cold war mindset that believes military power and dominance will subdue the enemy while expanding US power and control over countries and regions. This makes for a good climate for the expansion of it's capitalistic enterprises and profit making businesses. This is not just left-wing Marxist ideology, rather a look at reality. Too, when the "system" fails, as it did recently, it produces devastation of US and global economies which had and have ripple-effects in many industrial nations today. Recent protests in Europe speak of the difficulties now for working people and those who need social services programs shut down by the economic downturns caused by faulty US corporate practices and lack of regulations.

The US pressures other nations to support US business and US political policies and objectives. Representatives from the State Department and the military "visit" these nations offering trade, loan and other incentives in exchange for cooperation on US expansionist efforts. The recent "capitulation" of Poland and the Czech Republic, despite massive protests by activists in those nations, have led to the build-up of missile defense in Eastern Europe... the Middle East countries are now following suit with massive procurements of arms and missiles, bolstering the US power and influence in the region.

The US is bent on a military course of failure and destruction.

Throughout history "great" nations have risen and fallen due to their failures in respecting and providing, first and foremost, for their men, women and children, and the positive growth and development of their cultures. Today, the US is falling. Signs are everywhere that the culture is falling apart with high unemployment, over militarization, poor health care system, housing foreclosures, social service cutbacks, environmental problems, family and educational "disorientations", a drastic decline of support for President Obama,

all contributing to a climate of hopelessness and despair for it's 300 million people.

More pressure is needed to help move the US government, military and military-industrial -complex away from it's current policies and plans to much more humanistic and cooperative initiatives...presently to detour current movements on New START and missile defense onto much more progressive directions.

Arn Specter, Editor, The Nuclear Review, Oct.7,2010, Phila.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Obama Administration Pursues Landslide "New START" Vote