Voice of America Radio
May 21, 2002
The Global Security Institute was pleased to provide analysis of the recently-signed nuclear arms agreement between the US and Russia during an interview with Voice of America Radio, which reaches a global audience.
To listen to a brief audio clip, please visit the Voice of America website at:
The Bush-Putin Moscow Treaty, signed May 24, represents a step forward, but also a missed opportunity. The agreement does not include adequate verification measures, and does not address the approximately 10,000 Russian tactical warheads. Moreover, none of the cuts are irreversible, and the US will continue to posses in excess of 14,000 undeployed warheads. In essence, the agreement merely changes the posture of the arsenals without meaningfully eliminating any weapons. The treaty does little to safeguard nuclear materials, or to address the risks of nuclear terrorism that we continue to face.
There are several unsettling issues before us. The US Nuclear Posture Review, parts of which were made public in March, undercuts the commitments of 187 countries to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Posture review threatens to destroy the non-proliferation regime by promoting the indefinite retention of nuclear weapons and by seeking to make nuclear weapons more usable–even advocating the development of new nuclear weapons. And after the defeat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in the US Senate there is a real danger that nuclear testing will resume, putting further strain on the nuclear weapon non-proliferation regime. Additionally as the US unilaterally pushes forward with space weapons and missile defenses, multilateral relations and security are jeopardized.