Re: [Salon] Top Republican says 'all options must be on the table' after Russia pulls out of nuclear treaty

[Todd Pierce <todd.e.pierce@icloud.com>]

Thank God for the Republicans, and the Goldwaterite (Scoop Jackson) Democrats!

How dare the Russians withdraw from New START when we haven’t completed “Modernization" of our Nuclear Forces! 

https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/release/risch-russias-suspension-of-new-start-emphasizes-need-for-us-nuclear-modernization

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/21/europe/putin-russia-new-start-nuclear-pact-intl/index.html

"last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the US” What happened to the others? Article doesn’t say, but this is what happened to them: "The George W. Bush administration withdrew the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia in 2002. In 2018 the Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or the Iran Deal) and a year later from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In 2020 the Trump administration withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty and was nearly responsible for the expiration of New START.”

So how dare Russia withdraw from New START! That’s a prerogative reserved solely at the discretion, and benefit, of the US. Don’t the Russians know anything of International Relations and Treaty Law?

This is how its supposed to work:

https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AEtherJournal/Journals/Volume-1_Issue-2/Cimbala.pdf

"Conclusion:

"Developing and fielding the Sentinel ICBM is a necessary component of the United States’ larger strategic nuclear modernization effort. In conjunction with the modernization of the bomber- and submarine-based legs of the triad, the ICBM will provide deterrence for the American homeland, extended deterrence for Allies, and reassurance to partners that the United States will never accept second-tier status for its nuclear arsenal. In a strategic area that is heavily dependent on adversary psychology, how adversaries see the United States is more important than ever before.

"Future American nuclear forces, even under New START constraints, should support a strategy of assured retaliation and victory denial, as defined earlier. Current planning for the Sentinel should include a review of options for basing part of the ICBM force on mobile platforms. Just as mobile ICBMs complicate American targeting of adversary systems, they will have the same effect on adversaries considering targeting American ICBMs. The deployment of affordable and reliable ballistic missile defenses can also make the math impossible for adversaries contemplating strikes against American ICBM fields.

"The analysis here and elsewhere suggests the disarmament community is incorrect in its assessment of ICBMs and their utility in nuclear deterrence. Modernizing the US ICBM force, particularly improving strategic stability and preventing nuclear conflict, is the only response to the corresponding modernization efforts of our adversaries, in which intercontinental ballistic missiles feature prominently. Æ"

All that “Modernization” planning goes to waste if our Enemy doesn’t play along with our scheme, however!

With “proof” of who is responsible for the failure of “Arms Control” nicely captured here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_cYb9RHKUQ

On Feb 22, 2023, at 9:34 AM,> wrote:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-republican-says-all-options-on-table-after-russia-pulls-out-nuclear-treaty?intcmp=tw_fnc

Top Republican says 'all options must be on the table' after Russia pulls out of nuclear treaty

Russia pulled out of the New START treaty on Tuesday

By Houston Keene | Fox News

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., on Biden's visit to Ukraine and Russia's decision to pull out of treaty with the United States

EXCLUSIVE: House Armed Services Committee chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said that President Biden’s administration should "accelerate planning" on Russian nuclear deterrence after the communist nation pulled out of the New START nuclear treaty with the U.S.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Rogers’ press release following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s retreat from the treaty reducing and limiting the number of nuclear warheads in each country’s arsenal.

Rogers said Putin’s move is "no surprise" given his decade-long dismantling of nuclear arms treaties with America and said that the Biden administration should "accelerate" their plans in the event Russia "breaches New START caps" on nuclear warheads.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained House Armed Services Committee chairman Mike Rogers’, R-Ala., press release following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s retreat from the treaty reducing and limiting the number of nuclear warheads in each country’s arsenal. (House Armed Services Committee)

"Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in the New START Treaty should come as no surprise; over the last 10 years, he has systematically dismantled nuclear arms treaties with the United States and pursued an arms race," Rogers said in the release.

"Whether Russia has already broken the treaty’s warhead limitations is not clear, but hoping Russia returns to the fold is not wise, nor is it a strategy," the Alabama Republican said. "The Biden Administration should declare Russia to be in ‘material breach’ of the New START Treaty and direct the Joint Staff and U.S. Strategic Command to accelerate planning in the event Russia breaches New START caps."

Putin announced Tuesday that Russia was pulling back from the New START treaty with the United States which reduces and limits each country's nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"All options must be on the table including deploying additional nuclear forces and increasing the readiness of our nuclear triad," he continued. "We must also accelerate efforts to modernize our nuclear systems, and I again call on the President to abandon his plans to weaken our deterrent such as canceling the Nuclear Sea Launched Cruise Missile."

Rogers’ comments come the same day that Putin pulled Russia out of its 2010 New START nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. The treaty was formed while Biden was serving as vice president.

Putin announced Tuesday that Russia was pulling back from the New START treaty with the United States, which reduces and limits each country's nuclear arsenal.

The New START treaty, first signed in April 2010, limits the U.S. and Russia from having more than 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on delivery systems like intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missile or heavy bombers.

Both the U.S. and Russia are capable of deploying far more than the allotted nuclear warheads as Washington and Moscow have a combined total of more than 13,000 warheads – making up roughly 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, according to data provided by the Arms Control Association.

FOX News Digital's Landon Mion and Chris Pandolfo contributed reporting.

Houston Keene is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.  Story tips can be sent to Houston.Keene@Fox.com and on Twitter: @HoustonKeene 

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