Highlights: New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)

Dec. 7: Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller and Dr. Jim Miller, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, spoke on the New START at the Brookings Institution.

ON MISSILE DEFENSE

Question: Does the New START Treaty limit missile defenses?

Answer: Absolutely not. The New START Treaty does not constrain the United States from deploying the most effective missile defenses possible, nor does it add any additional cost or inconvenience.

ON TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Question: Why doesn’t the New START Treaty cover tactical weapons?

Answer: From the outset, as agreed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev, the purpose of the New START Treaty was to reduce and limit the two nations’ strategic offensive arms; therefore the issue of tactical nuclear weapons was not raised.

ON VERIFICATION

Question: Is the New START Treaty verifiable?

Answer: Yes. New START has a verification regime that is effective and robust, adapted to the requirements of the new treaty while building on the knowledge gained from the practices of the past.

ON MODERNIZATION

Question: Is the Administration committed to keeping our remaining nuclear weapons safe?

Answer: The United States is committed to ensuring the safety, security and effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile, as long as nuclear weapons exist.

ON TIMING

Question: Why do we need to pass the New START Treaty now? Why can’t we wait?

Answer: It is a national security imperative that the United States ratify the New START treaty this year. Every day that passes is another where the United States lacks the ability to verify and inspect Russian strategic nuclear forces.

"It is a national security imperative that the United States ratify the New START Treaty this year...There is no higher national security priority..."--President Obama