Global Security Newswire

The Obama administration has placed top priority on winning the endorsement of Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) for ratification of a new nuclear arms control pact with Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, April 14).

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty earlier this month. The pact would obligate the two former Cold War adversaries to both lower their respective strategic arsenals to 1,550 fielded warheads and to limit their deployed nuclear delivery vehicles -- missiles, submarines and bombers -- to 700, with another 100 permitted in reserve. Under a 2002 pact, Moscow and Washington had until 2012 to reduce their deployed strategic stockpiles to a maximum of 2,200 weapons each.

Backing from Kyl, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, was considered crucial in securing significant bipartisan support for ratification, which would require at least 67 votes in the chamber. Many Republican senators were waiting for Kyl to take a formal stance on the new pact before declaring their own positions, according to multiple congressional staffers. Of all the body's Republicans, only Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) has stated explicitly that he would back the treaty.

Kyl has not formally indicated whether he would support ratification of the agreement, but he expressed concern that the pact could limit Washington's ability to field new missile defense systems. He also suggested President Obama was not moving fast enough on another priority: pressuring Iran over its disputed nuclear work (see related GSN story, today).

"I wish the administration would spend more time working on the hard problem (Iran) rather than just chalking up some P.R. victories here by signing treaties and having summits," Kyl said.

If the United States rolled back its aging nuclear arsenal without adequately ensuring its remaining nuclear weapons were reliable, the nation's guarantees of extended deterrence to allies could ultimately carry less weight, Kyl said. The senator's office played a key role in blocking U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1999, according to a report prepared under former President Bill Clinton.

"If we got to a point where you didn't have enough to be able to cover the interests of the 31 countries that rely on us, or you couldn't rely on our weapons to do what they need to do or to be safe, then obviously you'd have a big problem," he said.

The Obama administration permitted Kyl to view negotiations on the pact in Geneva, Switzerland, and arranged for the top U.S. negotiator to provide updates on progress in the talks to the National Security Working Group, which the senator oversees.

"Senator Kyl has followed the negotiations closely, and we have taken his views, as well as those of other senators, seriously," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

Kyl said the nation's arsenal modernization plan would play a key role in his decision on whether to support the treaty. The Obama administration committed $5 billion for refurbishment work under its Nuclear Posture Review, but the updated policy would prohibit use of new replacement components in warhead maintenance without specific approval from Congress and the president.

Kyl criticized the provision as well as what he considered insufficient funding for refurbishment work. "I am not going to be a party to getting a treaty ratified if I'm not sure that there's commitment on the other side to an adequate plan," he said (Peter Spiegel, Wall Street Journal, April 20).

Meanwhile, Washington and Moscow yesterday called on all other governments to help rid the world of nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin pressed all countries "without exception, and first and foremost those that have nuclear arsenals, to join efforts with Russia and the United States in this field and to contribute actively to the disarmament process."

"We are convinced that only through collective efforts we can succeed in achieving effective disarmament and a nuclear-free world," the Russian ambassador said.

Every country should work to make "real progress" toward creating a nuclear weapon-free world, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and advancing the use of nuclear power for civilian applications, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice added.

Both officials were set yesterday to discuss the pending U.S.-Russian arms pact at a U.N. General Assembly meeting (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Google News, April 19).