The United States' politics is in turmoil.
The authoritarian Donald Trump administration behaves in ways no other administration has in the past. Reports state that ICE has murdered two people, and we still don't know who murdered them. In addition, citizens have been arrested for no reason, harassed for no reason, and had their homes invaded with no warrant, according to reports.
In the international arena, things are also in turmoil. The New START treaty, the last remaining agreement constraining Russian and US nuclear weapons, expired the week of the writing of this story. There are no negotiations to extend the terms of the treaty, either. Trump said in a recent interview, "If it expires, it expires."
How important is the New START Treaty? It's the only arms-control agreement left with notification, inspection, verification, and treaty compliance mechanisms between the US and Russia. The two countries, two of the most powerful in the world, possess 87 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. What will the end of the treaty mean? The end of the restraint between our country and Russia, and it could also restart the global nuclear arms race.
What's the history of New START? It was signed by US President Barack Obama and then Russian President Dimitri Medvedev in 2010 and entered into force the following year. It followed a 2002 treaty that obligated Russia and the United States to reduce their operationally deployed, strategic nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by the end of 2012. New START called for further reductions of long-range nuclear weapons. The new limits were: 700 deployed intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on those platforms, and 800 launchers. These reductions were achieved by 2018.
Geopolitical tensions between our country and Russia have waxed and waned over the past century. There were periods of detente in the 1910s (World War I), the 1940s (World War II), and during and after the first Cold War (the 1970s and 1980s through the 1990s). Before he passed away, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezi?ski spoke of a coalition of the aggrieved - China and Russia - challenging the hegemony of the West. His words were prophetic. To be clear, the authoritarian regimes of China and Russia are scary, but the authoritarian ways of the Trump administration are scary as well; just look at the issues mentioned in this story.
Trump's foreign and economic policies, including tariffs, have aliena -- --ted the US from its traditional allies. Our country is slowly retreating into its sphere of influence, which it can easily dominate. Just look at the ease in taking out Venezuela's Nicola's Maduro. The world's three military powers - the US, China, and Russia (China and Russia are aligned) - are balancing each other in the world's hemispheres. This indicates that cooperation is minimal and defense budgets are expanding. Hopefully, over time, a sense of cooperation will be established, and a peaceful, lawful world will emerge. In the meantime, we should take a small step forward by renewing New START. Perhaps historians will see it as a positive development in a scary and dangerous time.
Jason Sibert is the Lead Writer of the Peace Economy Project
