An Open Letter to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley on the New START Treaty

December 19, 2010

Dear Senator Grassley:

I am writing to urge you to vote for ratification of the New START Treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation.

No treaty is perfect, but as the Senate has its debate on the merits and deficiencies of the treaty language, the balance is tipping the scale in the direction that the treaty is good for United States national security.

In his floor speech on the treaty, Senator Dodd covered the broad bipartisan support for the treaty among a generation of our country's diplomats, military leaders and civilians associated with the nuclear labs and missile defense systems.

During the colloquy between Senator Kyl and Senator Kerry Friday evening, the issues discussed were substantive and engaging for those of us following the treaty's progress. During that colloquy, it became clear to me that neither Senator Kerry nor Senator Kyl had anything but the best interests of the country in mind. There have been accusations that the treaty has been politicized, but in this exchange, it did not appear to have been.

The vetting of concerns about the United States missile defense system has been thorough, and regardless of what the Russians think or want with regard to this matter, there is broad consensus that the United States is free to pursue a missile defense system that meets our national security needs.

During meetings you have held with colleagues of mine, you expressed concern that the full compliment of negotiating documents have not been released to the Senate. Even though this request seems unprecedented, my understanding is that there have been confidential briefings held by the State Department for the purpose of vetting that issue.

To be frank, assertions by some senators that President Obama is inexperienced and might capitulate to the Russians to further his personal ambitions is an offensive idea. It resonates with language that described slaves as “childish” and “foolish” and has no place in this discussion, as in my view, it represents a form of racism that unfortunately lingers in our social discourse.

When I asked you your thoughts about the treaty at a town hall meeting in Williamsburg, Iowa, you said you sought parity in the agreement.

As the United States continues to have the dominant military force in the world, and will if the treaty goes into force, I have come to realize that it would be difficult for Russia, China or any state to achieve overall parity with our country. I am not an expert, but I understand that the Russian government has financial troubles much deeper than we have in our current recession, and decreasing their nuclear arsenal would be welcome from a financial standpoint. If each country is verified to have the same number of nuclear warheads and launchers as specified in the treaty language, Russia will never rise to parity with our country.

You and your staff have told me that you will make your decision whether to support the treaty after hearing the Senate debate. I too, have been listening to much of the debate. No new objection has been raised thus far in the debate.

I urge you to support United States national security and agree with the vast majority of experts in the military, diplomatic corps and the nuclear complex and vote for ratification of the New START Treaty.

Best regards, and Merry Christmas.

Paul Deaton