Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing: The ABM Treaty: Love it or Leave it?
7/16/01
Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing: The ABM Treaty: Love it or Leave it?
That was the question repeatedly debated as the Senate Armed Services Committee held its third hearing in two weeks today on the Bush Administration’s missile defense plans. Last week, Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz stated the Administration’s intent to “bump up against” the treaty within months in its efforts to speed up deployment of a missile defense system.
That plan came under close scrutiny today as the committee heard from Richard Perle, Samuel R. Berger, and Philip Coyle. Perle said the treaty is obsolete and the United States should withdraw from it regardless of its impact on missile defense. Without missile defense, Perle said, the United States is “naked before its enemies.”
Former Clinton National Security adviser Berger disagreed, saying the Administration should try to negotiate changes to the treaty that would allow the United States to proceed with missile defense. “I welcome Secretary Powell’s statement last week that we intend to make a serious effort with the Russians to modify the current ABM Treaty and seek a new strategic framework as the President has discussed. But the gameplan outlined by the Pentagon last week proceeds on a timetable that makes any such negotiation virtually impossible to succeed,” he said.
Coyle, former director of operational testing and evaluation for the Pentagon, said current NMD activities need not violate the ABM Treaty anytime soon. “Rather than focusing on the ‘red herring’ of the ABM Treaty, the NMD program would do better to concentrate on crafting longterm, affordable approaches to technology development.”
Even strong supporters of missile defense on the committee appeared wary of unilateral action to break the treaty. Ranking Republican John Warner said he thought the Administration should try to negotiate treaty changes with Russia before proceeding with activities that might break the treaty. “It’s important to get an authorization bill” through Congress that does not get “sidetracked” by the issue of abrogating the treaty,” Warner said.
Sen. Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, said the United States should proceed with vigorous testing on missile defense, but should not unilaterally break the treaty if it is not hampering development.