December 17, 2010 Senator John Kerry 218 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington D.C. 20510 Senator Richard Lugar 306 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510-1401 Dear Senators Kerry and Lugar, ‘During Senate consideration of New START, Members of the Senate have rightly raised their ‘concer that New START leaves untouched Russia's ten-to-one advantage in tactical nuclear ‘weapons. The official State Department response to this concer is provided by a document on its web site purporting to be a “reality check,” which states that “Deferring negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons until after a START successor agreement had been concluded was also the recommendation of the Perry-Schlesinger Congressional Strategic Posture Commission.” As ‘Members of the Strategic Posture Commission we write to provide our own reality check that this does not resemble the recommendation the Commission made on Russian tactical nuclear ‘weapons. The Commission was in fact very concemed about Russian tactical nuclear weapons. At page 21 of its report, the Commission noted that the current imbalance in tactical nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia “is stark and worrisome to some U.S. allies in Central Europe.” We took note of the “evidently rising value in Russian military doctrine and national security strategy” of tactical nuclear weapons, and found that “there is a clear allied concern about this development.” ‘The Commission specifically said on page 67 of its report that “The imbalance favoring Russia is worrisome, including for allies, and it will become more worrisome as the number of strategic weapons is decreased. Dealing with this imbalance is urgent and, indeed, some commissioners would give priority to this over taking further steps to reduce the number of operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons.” (Emphasis added). In addition, page 68 says, “The United States will need to consider additional initiatives on those NSNF [non-strategic nuclear forces} not constrained by the INF Treaty~i.e., tactical nuclear weapons. US policy should be guided by two principles. First, the United States should seek substantial reductions in the large force of Russian NSNF.” Second, “no changes to the U.S. force posture should be made without comprehensive consultations with all U.S. allies.” These quotes from the Commission’s report demonstrate the error of the State Department's assertion that the administration's approach to New START and tactical nuclear weapons is consistent with the Commission's recommendations.December 17, 2010 Page 2 As members of the Strategic Posture Commission, we have brought this matter to your attention because we believe that the Commission’s recommendations regarding negotiations with Russia remain pertinent and that any reference to the Commission’s report should be accurate, Sincerely, Moy E Cite Cileebelia 2 Harry Cartland John S. Foster, Jr. Commissioner Commissioner F od Lhe. x MD Qo Fred C. Ikié Keith B. Payne Commissioner Commissioner mani hanes tlakag James R. Schlesinger R. James Woolsey, Jr. Vice-Chairman Commissioner