National Security Experts and Top Military Officials Unite to Ask for a Senate Vote on New START Treaty

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — 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.”

Dr. Janne Nolan, Director of Nuclear Security at the American Security Project, said: “This letter to the Senate leadership asking for a ratification vote on New START represents the overwhelming bipartisan consensus. Without New START, our security remains at risk. The Senate must act.”

Dear Senator Reid and Senator McConnell:

As retired military officers and national security experts who have spent our careers dedicated to protecting the security of the United States, we respectfully request you commit to a full Senate vote on ratification of the New START Treaty as soon as possible.

We ask the Senate to consider the consequences to our national security in delaying ratification of this vital treaty.

It has been 347 days since American inspectors left Russia, and every day uncertainty grows. Without New START in place, we have no on-site verification mechanisms in place to monitor Russian strategic forces.

Further delay will only risk misunderstanding and destabilization of the U.S. and Russian nuclear balance; set back other important non-proliferation priorities; and, put America needlessly at risk.

We urge all Senators to heed the words of our military leaders, including Admiral Mike Mullen, who said: “The military leadership in this country believes that this treaty is essential to our future security….I hope the Senate will ratify it quickly.”

As part of the vast consensus of national security professionals who have endorsed New START, we respectfully call on the Senate to ratify the New START Treaty.

Sincerely,

    The Consensus for American Security

    Brigadier General John Adams (U.S. Army, Ret.) Madeleine Albright,
     former U.S. Secretary of State
    Dr. Graham Allison, former Special Advisor to the Secretary of
     Defense
    Mary Catherine Andrews, former Special Assistant to the President
    Scott Bates, former Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Homeland
     Security Committee
    Samuel Berger, former National Security Advisor
    Dr. Barry Blechman, Assistant Director of the Arms Control and
     Disarmament Agency
    Mark Brzezinski, former Director for Russian/Eurasian affairs at the
     National Security Council Ambassador Richard Burt, U.S. Chief
     Negotiator in the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Lieutenant General
     John G. Castellaw (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.)
    Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) Joe
     Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund
    Nelson Cunningham, former Special Advisor to the President for
     Western Hemisphere Affairs
    Dr. Sidney Drell, former Deputy Director of the SLAC National
     Accelerator Laboratory
    Major General Paul Eaton (U.S. Army, Ret.) Lieutenant General Robert
     Gard Jr. (U.S. Army, Ret.)
    Dennis Gormley, Senior Research Fellow at the Matthew B. Ridgway
     Center for International
    Security Studies
    Vice Admiral Lee Gunn (U.S. Navy, Ret.) Chuck Hagel, former Senator
     (R-NE)
    Dr. Morton Halperin, former Special Assistant to the President
    Major General Marcelite Harris (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) Gary Hart,
     former Senator (D-CO)
    Lieutenant General Arlen "Dirk" Jameson (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)
    Brigadier General John H. Johns, PhD (U.S. Army, Ret.)
    Dr. David Kay, former IAEA/UNSCOM Chief Nuclear Weapons Inspector
    Dr. Geoffrey Kemp, former Special Assistant to the President for
     National Security Affairs
    Lieutenant General Donald Kerrick (U.S. Army, Ret.) Colonel Richard
     L. Klass (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)
    Dr. Lawrence Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Rear Admiral
     Rosanne M. LeVitre (U.S. Navy, Ret.) General Merrill "Tony" McPeak
     (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)
    Dr. Janne E. Nolan, Director of Nuclear Security for the American
     Security Project
    Admiral William Owens (U.S. Navy, Ret.), former Vice Chairman of the
     Joint Chiefs of Staff Ambassador Steven Pifer, former Senior
     Director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia of the NSC Lieutenant
     General Norman Seip (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)
    Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster (U.S. Army, Ret.) George P.
     Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State
    Ambassador Wendy R.  Sherman, former Counselor for the State
     Department and Special Advisor to
    President Clinton
    Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, former Deputy Assistant to the President
     for National Security Affairs
    Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State Lieutenant General
     James M. Thompson (U.S. Army, Ret.) Major General Jasper Welch (U.S.
     Air Force, Ret.)

About the Consensus for American Security: The Consensus for American Security is a non-partisan group of influential military and national security leaders who have come together to highlight growing support for a new and sustainable nuclear weapons policy. The Consensus is an initiative of the American Security Project. For more information, visit www.securityconsensus.org.

SOURCE The Consensus for American Security