Why Rush to Cut Nukes ?

New York Times 11/ 10/2010

The simple answer to Bolton and Yoo’s question is that they are unforgivingly dangerous,
The cold war may be over but Russia is still a very volatile place and nuclear issues need
to be addressed. The easy way to validate arguments these days seems to be referencing
the founding fathers and the constitution, thereby putting you within striking distance of
an easy win. Bolton and Yoo have done this and then go onto make what is clearly a false
claim. The election may have been a referendum on smaller government and certainly the
economy. It was never a referendum on foreign policy and the constitution as they
suggest. Most Americans still can’t tell you where most of the world’s countries are and
any thinking about arms proliferation and nuclear treaties is certainly distant thinking for
most.

Both Bolton and Yoo have made their marks under the Bush go-it-alone doctrine, Bolton
with his crude UN bashing as Bush’s Ambassador, and Yoo in the Justice Department
with his approval of torture and other barbarities. Clearly, these two weighing in on
nuclear foreign policy constitutes its own special sort of threat. If withdrawing from a
treaty is the easy matter Bolton and Yoo suggest, there is no real reason not to have the
treaty ratified during this Congress. If the treaty is found wanting or if Russia fails to
comply with its provisions President Obama or his successor can easily walk away from
it without further congressional involvement it. Treaties show that international and
cooperative headway can be made on difficult issues. And in the realm of nuclear
weapons, having one is far better than not.

The Aftermath

In today’s Times (11/17/2010) a predictable series of responses to the Bolton/Yoo article

appeared in the letters section. It was no surprise that not a single response assessed their
position as a creditable one. The letters all referenced points that I brought up. Most of
the responses came from former government policy administrators, academics and one
from a former ambassador. Two came from citizen types weighing in without the benefit
of think tank or policy group affiliation. Apparently Jon Kyl, the Republican Senator
from Arizona, also read the opinion piece and has now decided to withdraw his support
for the New Start Treaty which threatens its ultimate ratification. Once again, the angry
voice of one is prepared to spoil important work that will make the world a safer place in
which to live. Conservatives, it seems, have become the critics of everything while
producing no actual working legislation, real solutions to lift the economy, or foreign
policy decisions of their own which engage global problems.