Defense Hawk Cries Wolf on Cooperative Threat Reduction
1/19/01
Secretary of Defense-designate Donald Rumsfeld broke ranks this week with President-elect Bush and National Security Advisor appointee Condoleeza Rice over support for the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program. Initiated by Senators Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) in 1991, CTR dismantles nuclear weapons and missiles in the former Soviet Union, and is one of the few arms control programs that has enjoyed consistent bipartisan support.
In a written response to a set of advanced policy questions submitted by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld expressed concern that CTR, while it has benefitted U.S. national security, allows Russia to free resources for the development of newer and more sophisticated weapons. Calling for “a review of ongoing CTR projects and their respective national security benefits,” Rumsfeld hinted that the U.S. should not invest in such programs if Russia is spending money on new weapons.
However, the “new weapon” to which Rumsfeld alluded is Russia’s SS-27 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile, a single warhead missile being developed to replace older multiple-warhead ICBMs prohibited by the START II Treaty, which Russia ratified last April. Thus Russia’s recent deployment of a new Topol-M regiment is a sign of encouragement, not of danger. According to U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker, “We support very much [Russia’s] efforts to prepare for a post-START II environment.”
Rumsfeld’s misguided comments also indicate a departure from the position of President-elect George W. Bush, who praises the Nunn-Lugar program and has called for additional resources to carry out its mandate:
Under the Nunn-Lugar program, security at many Russian nuclear facilities has been improved and warheads have been destroyed. Even so, the Energy Department warns us that our estimates of Russian nuclear stockpiles could be off by as much as 30 percent….
The next president must press for an accurate inventory of all this material, and we must do more. I will ask the Congress to increase substantially our assistance to dismantle as many of Russia’s weapons as possible as quickly as possible.” (November 19,1999 Foreign Policy Speech in Simi Valley, CA) :
“We must continue to fund Nunn-Lugar (Act) and to dismantle those strategic and tactical nuclear weapons.” (February 16, 2000 Interview on the Jim Lehrer News Hour)
Condoleeza Rice, Bush’s selection for national security advisor and a Russia expert, also gives high marks to the Nunn-Lugar program.
“American security is threatened less by Russia’s strength than by its weakness and incoherence. This suggests immediate attention to the safety and security of Moscow’s nuclear forces and stockpile. The Nunn-Lugar program should be funded fully and pursued aggressively.” (Foreign Affairs Jan/Feb 2000)
Last week, a bipartisan task force led by former Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler released a report echoing the need for an expansion of nonproliferation programs with Russia. The task force recommended developing an eight-to-ten year, $30 billion strategic plan with the ultimate goal of neutralizing all weapons-usable material located in Russia, and suggested that the current expenditure of around $700 million a year should be considerably increased.
When asked his opinion of the task force’s report, Secretary of State designate Colin Powell replied before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
“I think that they’re right on…. I agree with them entirely.”
For all the talk of Rumsfeld’s rich national security experience, his priorities as Secretary of Defense should be seriously questioned. By sounding an unnecessary alarm on an inexpensive and successful program that deals with an urgent threat, while at the same time elevating a costly, controversial and unproven anti-ballistic missile system to his top priority, Rumsfeld is showing no sign of his much-vaunted managerial skill. President-elect Bush and the rest of his national security team should reiterate their unwavering support for threat reduction programs in Russia and direct Rumsfeld to make the implementation of these programs one of his top responsibilities as Secretary of Defense.