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"May There Always Be Sunshine" Ratify the New Start
Treaty Now. Reset, Re-affirm Create More Security
By mickielynn on 2010-11-21 20:38:23
Poost fesgada boodyet solnste — May there always be sunshine
Poost fesgada boodyet nyeba_ — May there always be blue sky
Poost fesgada boodyet mama May there always be mama
Poost fesgada boodo ya May there always be I
A poem written by a Russian schoolchild in 1963 and set to music by Arkadi Ostrovsky
This poem expresses fear of what could be taken away in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union
during the cold war. At the same time hope remains that the world could survive in spite of the nuclear madness. And
amazingly so far it has survived without the use of another nuclear weapon since the United States used two against the
people of Japan in 1945.
Now we live in a world where nuclear proliferation has again increased the danger of another use of nuclear weapons. The
stable relationship of mutual verification and cooperation with Russia provided by the original START Treaty diminishes the
danger and increases the hope for nuclear disarmament.
In August I wrote an article that detailed the New START Treaty that was negotiated with Russia. In that article I also laid
out the kinds of bipartisan support that such a treaty has from both current and former statespeople and military leaders. At
the time the hope was that it would be ratified by the United States Senate in September of 2010. But the Republican
opposition did not allow that to happen during that session of Congress. You can read more about it at:
In November of 2010 during the interim "lame duck" session of Congress there are enough votes in the Senate (67) to ratify
the treaty. In addition a recent CNN poll showed that 73% of the American public want passage of the New START treaty.
At this point (during the past 8 months) 21 Senate hearings have been held and the administration has answered more than
900 questions from the Senators. If this treaty isn't ratified before the end of 2010 then the Senate will need to start over
from scratch. This will prolong the time since the original START Treaty expired on December 5, 2009 to well over a year.
President Obama thinks that this treaty is important enough that he devoted his weekly address to the nation to the topic of
ratification on Saturday. Here's what Republican Senator Richard Lugar of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had to
say about the need for immediate ratification of the treaty: “Since last December 5, we’ve had no boots on the ground to
inform us what in fact is occurring in regards to the nuclear weapons of Russia. This is very serious.... I’ve stated frequently
to my constituents any one of those warheads could obliterate the city of Indianapolis.”
So if there are 67 votes for ratification and bipartisan agreement that the treaty is a good idea for national and world security
why is there a problem with ratification? The simple answer is that for strictly partisan political reasons one Senator is trying
to prevent this treaty from being ratified.
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona wants to prevent a vote until next year when it will be much less likely the treaty will pass. By
speaking out now, your senators can make sure that Senator Kyl does not get a “one-man veto.” Senator Kyl wants to kill
this treaty even though it will actually increase the security of the United States. He and other people who are funded by the
weapons industry are asking for more and more money in exchange for ratifying this internationally supported treaty. Kyl
demanded $10 billion on top of the billions already in the budget for nuclear weapons modernization and it was agreed to.
Now he's upping the ante and holding the New START treaty as hostage.
Here's what Friends Committee on National Legislation has said about the reasons why we need the New START treaty for
our own security and that of the world:
Why Ratify New START?
e It will reduce tensions between the two largest nuclear powers in the world by allowing both countries to inspect the
other country’s nuclear arsenal. With the expiration in December 2009 of the first START treaty, inspections and
verifications have stopped. Those inspections can resume as soon as the new START is ratified.
e It will reduce the number of deployed nuclear weapons in both of our countries, from 2,200 to 1,550 each.
e Ifour Senate fails to ratify START, prospects dim for future ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
They go on to say:
"The fewer nuclear weapons there are and the more we know about them, the safer we will all be. Senator Lugar knows this;
so do the past five chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and General Colin Powell.
That’s why they're ... demanding that the Senate ratify the New START treaty now -- before this session of Congress ends in
December."
You can help by calling or emailing your Senators and asking them to make sure that this important treaty comes up for a
vote before this session of Congress ends in December. The congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121 or you can
call the local office or email your Senator. This is too important to allow the current political, partisan games to be played.
We owe it to ourselves and to our children and all living things to re-start START.
