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Arms control is one of those flawed fashionable fetishes indulged by those who fancy themselves as cosmopolitan elite. When arms control is a good idea it is usually between countries that have built a level of trust that makes a formal agreement unnecessary. Arms control agreements are not necessary with Canada. Agreements between open peaceful societies and closed totalitarian regimes are by nature unequal. Law in open societies compels adherence to agreements. In closed societies, verification of compliance and enforcement are difficult at best. Does any one trust the word of Saddam Hussein on weapons agreements?
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan ventured to Iceland for a summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviet goal at the meeting was to prevent the possible deployment of a missile defense. Between negotiating sessions, Reagan could be seen walking to his limousine, lips pressed in determination and eyes displaying disappointment. Despite pressure from the public, the media, and arms control zealots, Reagan stood fast and refused to give up the inherently defensive possibility of protecting Americans from ballistic missile attack. Ultimately, the Soviet Union collapsed, partially under the pressure induced by arms competition with the United States. If Reagan had agreed to limiting missile defense, the pressure which ultimately contributed to one of the greatest victories for freedom and peace in this century, would have been eased. For his determination and courage, Reagan not Gorbachev should have won the Nobel Peace prize in 1991 for the end of the Cold War. At the very least Reagan, should have been awarded the prize, with Gorbachev included as a courtesy. Recently, the Senate of the United States led by Republicans hardened with a more rigid backbone than the body has displayed in years defeated the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The bill absolutely barred testing of nuclear weapons, even testing our aging stockpile for safety and reliability, in perpetuity. What is amazing is the blindness that permitted anyone, save those convinced that America is an evil blight on the world, to support the treaty. The CIA admitted that the treaty was unverifiable. The heads of the nuclear labs said that computer modeling was currently insufficient to insure the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons. Independent experts not currently part of the Clinton Administration, including James Schlesinger, President Carter's Secretary of Defense, were convinced the treaty would damage deterrence and make the world less stable. President Clinton made virtually no concerted effort nor invested any political capital to support CTBT, yet he complained that the defeat of the treaty would harm world "education" and "literacy." In the Clinton-centric universe where the all objects revolve around him, the Senate Republicans defeated the treaty just to annoy Clinton. As much as you might wish it Mr. Clinton, the treaty's defeat was not about you.
The copyright of the article Senate Shows Political Courage in Conservative Politics is owned by . Permission to republish Senate Shows Political Courage in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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