Iowans Should Support New START

“It's
not about ratification. According to the State Department press
conference, we are confident about ratification. It is about a
verification process for the Russian nuclear program and the related
national security concerns. So what's the worry?”

In the author's post on New START last week, he said, “Regrettably, New START has also become a political football in the United States Senate, escalated in importance far beyond the modest nuclear weapons reductions it proposes.” In her usual, confident manner, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the importance of Senate ratification of New START in a press conference last Wednesday.

During the press conference, Bob Burns of the Associated Press asked Clinton, “Madam Secretary, you mentioned there’s bipartisan support for the treaty. Senator Lugar, as far as I know, is the only Republican who has publicly said he supports the treaty. I may be wrong; if you could correct that if I’m wrong? And secondly, do you believe that the holdouts thus far are basing their position on election politics rather than the merits of the treaty?”

Clinton asked Assistant Secretary – Bureau of Legislative Affairs, Richard Verma to respond. Said Verma, “We’ve had excellent communications with, I’d say, all hundred members of the Senate thus far and really constructive discussions with staff, with senators on both sides of the aisle. The hearings have been very thorough, very thoughtful. The questions have not had a partisan edge to them. They’ve been very probing. And frankly, we’ve been very pleased with the process. It gives us hope for not only the committee vote, but for action on the floor in the fall.”

Burns followed up, “But there are additional (inaudible) who told you they will support it? Is that what you said?”

Verma: “Well, I think as we get closer, we would look forward to additional members coming out in – for support of the treaty.”

At times like this, I wonder about the view we have from Iowa.

According to Clinton, “This treaty will provide for inspections that the United States would not otherwise be able to hold. For 15 years, START provided us access to monitor and inspect Russia’s nuclear arsenal. START, as you know, expired last December. It, therefore, has been more than eight months since we have had inspectors on the ground in Russia. This is a critical point. Opposing ratification means opposing the inspections that provide us a vital window into Russia’s arsenal. This treaty in no way does or will constrain our ability to modernize our nuclear enterprise or develop and deploy the most effective missile defenses for the sake of our security and for our allies, friends, and partners.”

It's not about ratification or politics. According to the State Department press conference, we are confident about ratification. It is about a verification process for the Russian nuclear program and the related national security concerns. So what's the worry?

Initiatives like the New START Treaty don't occur in a vacuum in Washington. According to Maggie Piggott  of Heritage Action for America, a political action organization recently spun off from the conservative Heritage Foundation, “The team at Heritage Action is working to make sure all Senators realize this treaty is a threat to missile defense and would hurt our national security.” Heritage Action is well financed and working aggressively to stop ratification of the New START Treaty.

Recently, Mitt Romney shilled for the group, denouncing the treaty as “Obama's worst foreign policy mistake.” Like many critics of all things Obama, Mitt Romney and Heritage Action are focused on New START as a wedge issue to cast doubt on a president they seek to turn out of office in 2012.

If we cautiously arrive at “truth” in Washington, and truth is obfuscated by the editorial policies of corporate media, then Iowans need to turn to what we know. What we know is that Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and other presidential hopefuls spent a lot of time with us in 2007. In dozens of town hall meetings in Iowa and New Hampshire, they answered questions and we vetted them on issues that are important to us. In some cases, with nuclear non-proliferation particularly, we influenced their policy.

Despite what we hear from Heritage Action or from the corporate media, Iowans can have faith in what these leaders say regarding nuclear non-proliferation, because in a real sense they represent what we said was important to us in 2007. Things have not changed that much. From the perspective of the New START Treaty, what is important to know is that Senator Tom Harkin supports it, and Senator Chuck Grassley is “undecided.”

Senator Kerry has the votes to move the treaty out of committee, so make sure you write the Iowa Senators to urge them to vote for ratification of the New START Treaty when it is considered by the full senate. As Secretary Clinton said this week, it is a matter of national security.

~Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton