Five Reasons to Hate New START

James Carafano / June 29, 2010

Tim Starks recently penned a piece for Congressional Quarterly titled “Republicans Take Pause at START Accord’s Missile Defense Implications.” His bottom line: “No matter how often Democrats or Obama administration witnesses try to sway them, Republicans continue to express doubts about whether a new arms treaty would constrain U.S. missile defense plans.”

Who can blame them? There are many reasons to hate the treaty. Consider just these five:

1. The Administration’s “Trust Us, Don’t Verify” Policy. Turning Reagan’s old arms-control dictum on its head, White House officials continue brushing aside the fact that Russian officials interpret the preamble of the treaty differently than U.S. officials do. That’s a problem, particularly when the administration refuses to let senators look at the negotiating records, the memos and other records of what both sides said during the negotiations.

The negotiating record would verify whether U.S. officials are being completely forthright. Failing to turn it over looks suspicious, particularly when there is plenty of precedent for letting the Senate look at treaty negotiating records. (more…)