White House Highlights New START Treaty With Russia
After concluding a phone call with Russian President Medvedev, President Obama announced the new START treaty during a press briefing Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, and Admiral Mullen.
The new Treaty, which he called “the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades,” is a major step to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons and to set the stage for further reductions in global nuclear stockpiles and materials.
The President has made the pledge to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons worldwide a key goal of his foreign policy approach, including a major speech in Prague laying out his vision during his first trip to Europe
President Obama explained the significance of the new agreement:
In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time. Today, we’ve taken another step forward by — in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children. We’ve turned words into action. We’ve made progress that is clear and concrete. And we’ve demonstrated the importance of American leadership — and American partnership — on behalf of our own security, and the world’s.
Broadly speaking, the new START treaty makes progress in several areas. It cuts — by about a third — the nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia will deploy. It significantly reduces missiles and launchers. It puts in place a strong and effective verification regime. And it maintains the flexibility that we need to protect and advance our national security, and to guarantee our unwavering commitment to the security of our allies.
With this agreement, the United States and Russia — the two largest nuclear powers in the world — also send a clear signal that we intend to lead. By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities.
Specifically, the new START Treaty will specify limits of:
- 1,550 deployed warheads, which is about 30% lower than the upper warhead limit of the Moscow Treaty;
- 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons; and
- 700 for deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons.
Key Facts about the New START Treaty:Treaty Structure: The New START Treaty is organized in three tiers of increasing level of detail. The first tier is the Treaty text itself. The second tier consists of a Protocol to the Treaty, which contains additional rights and obligations associated with Treaty provisions. The basic rights and obligations are contained in these two documents. The third tier consists of Technical Annexes to the Protocol. All three tiers will be legally binding. The Protocol and Annexes will be integral parts of the Treaty and thus submitted to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. Strategic Offensive Reductions: Under the Treaty, the U.S. and Russia will be limited to significantly fewer strategic arms within seven years from the date the Treaty enters into force. Each Party has the flexibility to determine for itself the structure of its strategic forces within the aggregate limits of the Treaty. These limits are based on a rigorous analysis conducted by Department of Defense planners in support of the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review. Aggregate limits:
- 1,550 warheads. Warheads on deployed ICBMs and deployed SLBMs count toward this limit and each deployed heavy bomber equipped for nuclear armaments counts as one warhead toward this limit.
o This limit is 74% lower than the limit of the 1991 START Treaty and 30% lower than the deployed strategic warhead limit of the 2002 Moscow Treaty.
- A combined limit of 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.
- A separate limit of 700 deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.
o This limit is less than half the corresponding strategic nuclear delivery vehicle limit of the START Treaty.
Verification and Transparency: The Treaty has a verification regime that combines the appropriate elements of the 1991 START Treaty with new elements tailored to the limitations of the Treaty. Measures under the Treaty include on-site inspections and exhibitions, data exchanges and notifications related to strategic offensive arms and facilities covered by the Treaty, and provisions to facilitate the use of national technical means for treaty monitoring. To increase confidence and transparency, the Treaty also provides for the exchange of telemetry.
Treaty Terms: The Treaty’s duration will be ten years, unless superseded by a subsequent agreement. The Parties may agree to extend the Treaty for a period of no more than five years. The Treaty includes a withdrawal clause that is standard in arms control agreements. The 2002 Moscow Treaty terminates upon entry into force of the New START Treaty. The U.S. Senate and the Russian legislature must approve the Treaty before it can enter into force.
No Constraints on Missile Defense and Conventional Strike: The Treaty does not contain any constraints on testing, development or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned United States long-range conventional strike capabilities.
Topics: 2010, administration, Admiral Mullen, America, American, cold war, Dmitry Medvedev, enforcement, EU, Eurasian region, Europe, foreign policy, global nuclear disarmament, Governance, government, manage the risk, monitor, national security, news, nuclear, nuclear agenda, nuclear arms control agreement, nuclear arsenal, nuclear disarmament, nuclear supermarket, nuclear war, Obama Administration, Prague, President Barack Obama, President Obama, rogue states, Russia, safety, Secretary of Defense Gates, Secretary of State Clinton, security, Senate, society, START, strategic nuclear warheads, supermarket, technology, terror, terrorism, terrorist groups, terrorists, threat, transparency, treaty, U.S., U.S. missile defense programs, United States, US, verification, Washington, weapons, White House
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