Newspaper Editorials Supporting Nuclear Weapons Reductions
by John Isaacs [contact information]
Boston Globe
“THE NEW Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty deserves bipartisan ratification in the Senate. This updated version of the 1991 treaty would cut the number of nuclear warheads and long-range delivery systems maintained by the United States and Russia. The new treaty is a boon for national security and a useful step toward improved US-Russian relations.”
Buffalo News
Thus the welcome news the other day that U. S. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to cut their nuclear stockpiles by as much as a third as they continue to talk about both U. S. missile defense plans and a reduction in the limits on missiles and bombers...Considering how many people could be killed by each of those warheads, even the lowered number would still be many times more firepower than either nation needs to remain a force to be reckoned with—certainly not a country to be picked on by its neighbors and rivals.
Christian Science Monitor
“In their first face-to-face meeting this week, President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, agreed that the two countries should get back to nuclear arms control…it's hard to imagine a better way to "reset" this troubled relationship than to hit the weapons-negotiation button.”
“…the act of Russia and the US negotiating nuclear arms reductions sets a positive example for nuclear-ambitious countries such as Iran and North Korea...”
“The world also shudders at the thought of freelance terrorists getting their hands on nuclear weapons. With arms control, fewer nukes mean fewer possibilities of wayward nukes.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Make no mistake: It's stupendous news that President Obama wants to get America out of the nuclear-war-promoting business and back into the nuclear-arms limitation business. Particularly welcome was his announcement in Prague on Sunday that nuclear weapons no longer would hold the central place in U.S. national security strategy to which the George W. Bush administration promoted them. By also supporting a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons tests and agreeing to resume strategic arms limitation talks with the Russians, the president signaled his understanding that U.S. actions do matter in global nonproliferation. “
Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor
“The treaty will reduce tension between the United States and Russia, help to safeguard against nuclear material falling into the wrong hands, and help unify the world against the nations that are trying to become nuclear powers. But like all U.S. treaties, START must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which means it could become yet another measure held hostage by Republicans for partisan reasons. Though Republicans could put up a united front, as they did on health care reform, they shouldn't.”
Des Moines Register
“What Sunday's launch does underscore is the need to shrink the world's arsenal of nuclear weapons - which Obama advocated in a speech last weekend. The United States should lead that charge by example. Obama has pledged to cut this country's nuclear warheads. In a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the two leaders committed to further slashing each country's stockpiles.”
Los Angeles Times
At the first U.S.-Russian summit in seven years, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to agree. This is a far greater accomplishment than it might seem, given the sorry state of bilateral relations that the two leaders inherited and the high costs of discord. The presidents established a framework for reducing their nuclear arsenals and signed an agreement giving the U.S. rights to fly military supplies across Russia to Afghanistan. More broadly, they chose to focus on areas of common interest rather than on the serious issues that divide the two countries. And while goodwill is not sufficient for resolving bilateral problems, it is an essential ingredient.
New York Times
“Although the deal makes only modest cuts in both countries’ arsenals, President Obama deserves credit for reviving an arms control process that his predecessor disparaged as a cold-war relic. He is now leading the way on reducing the nuclear threat. This new accord will substantially strengthen his hand to press for tighter controls on nuclear materials at a nuclear security summit meeting next month, and then for tighter penalties on nuclear scofflaws like Iran and North Korea at a Nonproliferation Treaty review conference in May.” March 27, 2010
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
“Even after the Cold War, nuclear weapons remain a major threat to the world's security. That's why a treaty between the United States and Russia remains a very big deal.”
Newton (Iowa) Daily News
“Obama also said he will negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction treaty with the Russians. No one can say what that treaty might contain, but even the fact that we are talking with the Russians about arms reductions is good.”
The Post and Courier (South Carolina)
President Obama made positive gains and avoided damaging concessions in his two-day visit to Russia. It was, on balance, a successful trip. The gains were topped by an agreement to keep bilateral strategic arms limits alive past the end of the year and by obtaining Russian permission for U.S. aircraft to cross Russian air space to ferry support to our forces in Afghanistan.
Salt Lake Tribune
“The United States can hardly lecture others to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions when it keeps an arsenal of some 2,200 warheads on alert status and thousands more in storage. Yet the National Academy of Sciences concluded in 1997 that the United States and Russia could maintain credible deterrence with about 300 warheads on each side…But keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists is a simpler question. That risk can be reduced if arsenals are cut, nuclear materials are carefully controlled and more nations are induced to cooperate in that effort.”
April 9, 2009
Seattle Times
Progress on reducing strategic nuclear arms is big news out of the Russian-American summit conference, but overshadowed side agreements are true windows on improving relations. Russian and U.S. negotiators met through the spring to produce what is essentially a statement of intent on nuclear weapons. President Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to further talks aimed at limiting each other’s arsenal of warheads to 1,675, down from a ceiling of 2,200, set to take effect in 2012. Missiles to deliver them would be cut to 1,100 from the 1,600 currently permissible.
USA Today
“Aside from the obvious reasons for whittling down the world's biggest nuclear arsenals, the two nations need each other's help. Russia, less adept than the U.S. at refreshing its weapons, risks falling behind numerically if it can't negotiate a reduction. Obama needs Russia's help to contain Iran and North Korea. Both would benefit from cost savings and reduced risk of a weapon falling into terrorist hands.”
“Zero might not be a realistic goal today, but getting as close as prudently possible makes all the sense in the world.”
USA Today
Whatever combination of fear and overcompensation drove such excess, at least the world's most powerful nuclear nations are taking steps in the right direction...For now, though, the latest agreement leaves the U.S. with more than enough firepower to play offense, play defense, and make the rubble bounce several times over.
Washington Post
“But it's not necessary to share the president's long-term vision, or his expansive estimation of the new treaty's influence, in order to celebrate what appears to be a solid diplomatic achievement . . . As described Friday, the accord sounds worthy; the United States still deploys more nuclear weapons than it needs.”
Washington Times
Planned reductions in nuclear stockpiles, as delineated in the July 6 Joint Understanding for the START Follow-On Treaty, make sense for both countries, but the most dramatic drawdowns in warheads and delivery systems already took place in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. What is left is merely fine-tuning. The critical nuclear issue is not the size but the composition of our stockpiles.
John Isaacs 202-546-0795 ext. 2222 jdi@armscontrolcenter.org
John Isaacs is the Executive Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focuses on national security issues in Congress, Iraq, missile defense, and nuclear weapons. Isaacs has published articles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Christian Science Monitor, Nuclear Times, Arms Control Today, American Journal of Public Health, and Technology Review.