The Consensus for American Security hosted a press conference call on Friday, November 19, 2010 at 10:30AM with Amb. Linton Brooks and Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson who discussed the latest developments on the ratification process for the New START treaty. (more…)

WASHINGTON D.C., 17 November 2010 – Today members of the Consensus for American Security submitted a letter to Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. Mitch McConnell urging a Senate ratification vote on the New START Treaty as soon as possible.

Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson, USAF (Ret.) said: “As someone who was at the very sharp end of the spear during the Cold War, commanding all U.S. ICBMs, I know what is at stake with this treaty. We need to get boots back on the ground monitoring Russian weapons, and we need to create stability between our nuclear forces.  We need this treaty ratified as soon as possible.” (more…)

The New START Treaty is in the best interest of our national security – our top national security leaders, including all of the serving military leadership, support this Treaty.

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Office of the Press Secretary

Whitehouse.gov, 11/16

Failure to pass the New START Treaty this year would endanger our national security. Without ratification of this Treaty, we will have no Americans on the ground to inspect Russia’s nuclear activities, no verification regime to track Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal, less cooperation between the two nations that account for 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, and no verified nuclear reductions. The New START treaty is a fundamental part of our relationship with Russia, which has been critical to our ability to supply our troops in Afghanistan and to impose and enforce strong sanctions on the Iranian government.

President Obama has made an extraordinary commitment to ensure the modernization of our nuclear infrastructure, which had been neglected for several years before he took office. We have made clear our plans to invest $80 billion on modernization over the next decade, and, based on our consultations with Senator Kyl, we plan to request an additional $4.1 billion for modernization over the next five years.

The new START Treaty enjoys broad, bipartisan support.  The Senate has held 18 hearings on the Treaty.  It was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee with bipartisan support.  It has been endorsed by prominent former officials from both parties, including former Secretaries of State George Shultz, James Baker, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, and Warren Christopher, former Defense Secretaries James Schlesinger, William Cohen, William Perry, Frank Carlucci, and Harold Brown, and former National Security Advisors Brent Scowcroft, Stephen Hadley, and Sandy Berger.  It is consistent with previous Strategic Nuclear Arms Treaties, each of which passed with over 85 votes in the Senate.

Given new START’s bipartisan support and enormous importance to our national security, the time to act is now and we will continue to seek its approval by the Senate before the end of the year.

We’re setting the record straight about the New START treaty.

Despite critics’ claims to the contrary, New START does nothing to prohibit or constrain U.S. missile defense plans. In fact, it reduces previous constraints on missile defense.

New START has the support of top military officers and national security officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command General Kevin Chilton, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Dr. Janne Nolan, Director for Nuclear Security at ASP, recently said:

“If New START was truly a detriment to missile defense, it would not have such broad support among those entrusted with our nation’s security.”

Trust the facts. We’ve simplified them for you. Read them here.

When the Senate returns to complete their work for this session, they will undoubtedly have a lot on their plate. America’s military leadership, however, has made clear that for them, scheduling a vote on the ratification of the New START arms reduction treaty with Russia should be a top priority.

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By Hillary Rodham Clinton and Robert M. Gates

The Washington Post, 11/15

For decades, American inspectors have monitored Russian nuclear forces, putting into practice President Ronald Reagan’s favorite maxim, “Trust, but verify.” But since the old START Treaty expired last December, we have relied on trust alone. Until a new treaty comes into force, our inspectors will not have access to Russian missile silos and the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals will lack the stability that comes with a rigorous inspection regime.

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By: Megan Scully

National Journal, 10/29

Treaty endorsed by thinkers from across the political spectrum
By Lt. Gens. John Castellaw, Arlen Jameson, Donald Kerrick and Brig. Gen. John Adams
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The Washington Times
5:07 p.m., Friday, October 22, 2010

Over the course of six months of hearings and briefings, one by one, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the heads of STRATCOM and the Missile Defense Agency and former officials from the last seven administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, all told senators the same thing – the New START treaty makes us safer and should be ratified by the Senate.
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The Hill

By Lt. General Dirk Jameson - 10/21/10 09:36 AM ET

Critics of the New START Treaty have recently taken to the pages of the Washington Times in an attempt to raise doubts about the treaty. Despite their best efforts to muddy the waters, however, they have been unable to explain away the overwhelming support that the treaty has among both U.S. military leadership and the national security establishment.
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