By now, New START aficionados (if that’s the right word) will know all the talking points about missile defenses. Treaty critics in search of unacceptable restrictions on interceptors have homed in on Art. V, Paragraph 3, which prohibits either the conversion of ICBM silos or submarine missile tubes into interceptor launchers, or conversion the other …
Purposeful Interference
by | 2010-07-29 | 8 Comments
The Keeper of the Shoeboxes touched on the new National Space Policy (.pdf) a few weeks back, focusing on the diplomatic side of it. As he noted, the language on diplomacy and arms control is substantially different from that in the 2006 policy. But I wanted to focus on a different aspect, the concept of …
Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater
by | 2010-07-28 | 9 Comments
That’s about the level of the rhetoric these days surrounding the new State Department “compliance” report. Although the Compliance Report (properly, Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments) isn’t strictly speaking part of the ratification package for the New START agreement, some opponents are trying to argue that Russia …
Nitze’s Strategic Concept
by | 2010-07-28 | 6 Comments
In 1985, obstructionists and nuclear deal makers in Ronald Reagan’s administration fought pitched battles over the President’s divided mind. Secretary of Defense Cap Weinberger and his allies appealed at every turn to President Reagan’s strong attachment to the Strategic Defense Initiative and his deep antipathy toward the Soviet Union. Secretary of State George Shultz and …
