Several Democratic senators are expected to vacate their seats right after next month's midterm election, enabling their replacements to potentially ensnare an Obama administration bid to win Senate approval of a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia before other newly elected lawmakers take their seats in January,
Foreign Policy reported (see
GSN, Oct. 20).
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April signed "New START," which requires their nations to each cut deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550 warheads, down from the maximum of 2,200 allowed by 2012 under an earlier agreement. They must both also restrict their active nuclear delivery vehicles to 700, with another 100 platforms allowed in reserve.
The pact is awaiting a ratification vote in the Senate, where the 67 votes required for passage must include at least eight Republicans in this Congress. A significant number of Republicans have expressed reservations over the treaty, and anticipated party gains could raise the number of required GOP supporters to between 16 and 18 in the next Congress if the ratification process dragged into 2011, according to
Foreign Policy.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for a vote during the current Congress's "lame-duck" session between the Nov. 2 election and Christmas; however, lawmakers elected in Delaware, Illinois and West Virgina are set to take seats immediately after next month's vote, making their positions on the treaty key to its ratification prospects.
Democrat Chris Coons, now the leading Senate candidate in Delaware, has not taken a public stance on the arms pact. Republican rival Christine O'Donnell, though, pledged in an e-mail statement to "look very carefully at any treaty before the U.S. Senate."
"There is nothing wrong in principle with reducing nuclear weapons as long as it is verifiable and we ensure that we can meet all of our defense requirements. There are several concerns with New START treaty as it stands before the U.S. Senate right now," O'Donnell wrote in the statement, referring to missile defense language in the pact, Russian efforts to curb Iranian atomic activities and the Obama administration's commitment to refurbishing U.S. nuclear weapons. "Before I could vote in support of New START, each of these concerns would have to be fully addressed," she said.
Representative Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who showed a slight lead in a recent poll, has not taken a stance on the treaty, according to a statement by his office. Kirk has worked with Democrats in the past on security matters, suggesting he could support the agreement's ratification, according to
Foreign Policy. Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias in an e-mail said he would endorse the pact.
West Virginia Democrat Joseph Manchin, who polled ahead of his Republican competitor by a thin margin, would consider the positions of "our commanders and generals on the ground" in formulating his position on the treaty, according to a statement by his office. Republican candidate John Raese opposes the treaty, a spokesman said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) probably would not allow a vote on New START to proceed unless the White House verified 67 senators were in favor of ratification,
Foreign Policy reported. Such a vote was one of a number of "possible" items the Senate could take up during the lame-duck period, according to one Senate leadership staffer.
"We're taking nothing for granted and we're addressing every concern and giving every reassurance where we can," an Obama administration official said. "That's where we are" (Josh Rogin,
Foreign Policy, Oct. 21).
Meanwhile, Russia yesterday denied allegations that it had negotiated an undisclosed deal with the United States linked to New START, RIA Novosti reported.
"No secret arrangements beyond the limits of what is written in the document and its appendixes exist," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said (
RIA Novosti, Oct. 22).
"I can only tell you one thing: everything we had agreed on is fixed in the treaty and in the ample appendixes to this treaty. This is an open document," the Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying (
Xinhua News
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20101022_8525.phpAgency, Oct. 21).
Getty Images A tidal energy turbine developed by Atlantis Resources.
(Oct. 22) - Former International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Hans Blix, shown in July, on Wednesday warned that potential Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran could violate international law (Ben Stansall/Getty Images). 
(Oct. 21) - North Korean soldiers stand guard yesterday at Panmunjom, near the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas. Increased activity at a site in North Korea suggests Pyongyang could be preparing to conduct a third nuclear test, a South Korean official said (Park Ji-hwan/Getty Images). 
This image taken on Oct. 16, 2006 by South Korea's multipurpose satellite Arirang No. 2 shows Punggye-ri in North Hamgyong Province, believed to be the site of North Korea's nuclear tests. /Courtesy of Korea Aerospace Research Institute 
