It would seem like a relatively modest request. How about making America–and, say, the rest of the world–a little safer? How’s that for a global Christmas present? Not surprisingly, it’s not being all that well received in the partisan-agenda driven Congress.
To date, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana appears to be the only Republican willing to support the New START arms control treaty. That’s the U.S.-Russia pact that would further reduce strategic warheads between the two countries as well as restore expired inspections. And it wouldn’t interfere with U.S. plans for a missile-defense system. No, it’s not a precursor to the Rapture, but it’s not unimportant.
Fewer warheads and more accident-pre-empting information-sharing should be supportable to anyone not hibernating in a Cold War cocoon. More importantly, a re-upped, up-dated START improves our critically important relationship with Russia, which is a key leverage player in dealing with, among others, Iran. The global implications should be clear, even to political obstructionists. This is beyond party-first pettiness.
In effect, the treaty has been held up by Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., the Senate Minority Whip. He’s the guy now tasked with maintaining party discipline. While Kyl disingenuously notes concerns about the continuation of weapons upgrades, it’s obvious that this is not about the merits of the treaty, per se. Kyl’s references to “Obama’s treaty” speak volumes. This is part of the fallout from the zero-sum November elections that went so well for the anti-everything-Obama GOP.
Patrick Buchanan, the cranky, conservative pundit and Republican stalwart who once ran for president, notably disagrees with Kyl’s partisan approach to American security. Also disagreeing with the Kyl-led opposition: U.S. allies and national-security heavyweights such as Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and James Baker.
“Richard Nixon would have supported this treaty. Ronald Reagan would have supported this treaty,” said Buchanan. “Simply because this treaty is ‘Obama’s treaty’ does not mean it is not in America’s interest.”
But if New START is now stopped, the bottom line is this: The world just became a little less safe for Republicans too.