The U.S. and Soviet Union/Russia have been negotiating to reduce nuke weapons since the 1960s. The first START agreement reduced nukes from 11,000 - 12,000 (on both sides) to 6,000 weapons. Subsequent agreements brought the weapons down to 2,200. The new treaty signed by Obama reduced the nukes to 1,550.
The START treaty needs at least nine republican votes to be ratified and they're in. They are: Bob Bennett, Johnny Isakson, Lamar Alexander, Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, George Voinovich, Richard Lugar, and Bob Corker. The final vote could take place tomorrow.
Mitch McConnell, Jim DeMint, Jon Kyl and other republicans appear to be sticking together in opposing the treaty ratification purely for politics.
Chuck Todd says Jon Kyl can't stand Obama. That personal animosity is probably fueling his desire to delay the START treaty ratification until after the lame duck session. Chuck says for the treaty to be ratified it needs to get from 58 to 67 votes, which is doable. John Kerry and republican Dick Lugar are pushing for the treaty ratification. Chuck says that the treaty ratification would strengthen Dmitry Medvedev. If it doesn't get ratified, it will strengthen Putin.
President Obama is pleased to welcome President Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation to the United States on June 22-24.
Over the last eighteen months, the United States and Russia have made significant strides in resetting relations between our two countries in ways that advance our mutual interests. Since first meeting in London in April 2009, President Obama and President Medvedev have collaborated closely to enhance the security and well-being of the American and Russian people, including the expansion of the Northern Distribution Network, which supplies our troops in Afghanistan; the signing of the New START Treaty, which reduces our nuclear arsenals, enhances transparency about our strategic forces, and demonstrates U.S. and Russian leadership in support of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; new sanctions against North Korea, designed to compel North Korea to adhere to its international obligations; the full and active pursuit of the dual track strategy that seeks Iran’s compliance with its international obligations regarding its nuclear program, including most recently UN Security Council Resolution 1929; and the creation of a Bilateral President Commission, which has expanded dramatically the interactions among Americans and Russians on a whole range of issues, including emergency disaster response, space, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, energy efficiency, and trade and investment, among others.
President Obama looks forward to using this next meeting with President Medvedev to explore possible avenues of greater cooperation regarding trade, investment and innovation. The two Presidents will hold a bilateral meeting at the White House on June 24, where they will discuss these issues, as well as other issues of mutual concern leading into the G-8 and G-20 meetings. In conjunction with the visit, Russian and American business leaders , as well as American and Russian civil society leaders, will be holding their own meetings in Washington. As President Medvedev seeks to promote innovation and modernization in Russia, President Obama is pleased that the Russian President will begin his trip to the United States by visiting the Silicon Valley, and have the opportunity to review the unique set of factors that has fostered this important center of technological advancement and entrepreneurship.
Forty years after the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty entered into force, we have come together to answer a simple question with consequences for us all: as individual nations and as an international community, will we uphold the rights and responsibilities of all nations in order to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons?
For four decades, the NPT has been the cornerstone of our collective efforts to prevent the proliferation of these weapons. But today, this regime is under increasing pressure. A year ago in Prague, I therefore made it a priority of the United States to strengthen each of the treaty’s key pillars as we work to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and to pursue the peace and security of a world without them.
Over the coming weeks, we will see whether nations with nuclear weapons will fulfill their NPT obligations to move toward nuclear disarmament. Building on our new START Treaty with Russia and our Nuclear Posture Review, which reaffirms the central importance of the NPT, the United States is meeting its responsibilities and setting the stage for further cuts.
We will see whether nations without nuclear weapons will fulfill their obligation to forsake them. History shows that nations that pursue this path find greater security and opportunity as an integrated member of the international community. Nations that ignore their obligations find themselves less secure, less prosperous and more isolated. That is the choice nations must make.
Finally, we will work to ensure that nations that abide by their obligations can access peaceful nuclear energy. The United States is committed to this goal and will pursue a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation that permits nations that uphold their responsibilities to enjoy the peaceful uses of the atom.
Today, the eyes of the world are upon us. Over the coming weeks, each of our nations will have the opportunity to show where we stand. Will we meet our responsibilities or shirk them? Will we ensure the rights of nations or undermine them? In short, do we seek a 21st century of more nuclear weapons or a world without them?
These are the questions we must answer, the challenges we must meet. At this conference and beyond, let us come together, in partnership, to pursue the peace and security that our people deserve.
Obama needs 8 republicans to ratify the U.S. Russia arms reduction treaty. Obama's confident he'll get votes he needs. Watch his interview with George S. here. As much as Palin and others protest, I'm thinking the treaty is likely to be ratified with relative ease.
Here is Obama speaking in Prague. Obama calls Medvedev a partner and a friend. See Obama's schedule in Prague here.
Here is the signing ceremony. It's like a wedding. They look so happy together. Want to know what they were signing? Read the text of the START treaty here:
Obama is rewriting the rules on when nukes can be used. He'll be traveling to Prague on Thursday to sign a new nuke reduction treaty with Russia. Bloomberg's Al Hunt calls it a "vintage Obama move." I take that to mean something for both the left and the right to criticize. Bloomberg's Al Hunt says the facts are that for 60 years, U.S. has had a no nuke policy:
CBS reports that nuclear war between nations is no longer the threat. The threat is a rogue nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist who wouldn't think twice about using nukes:
Here are some nuggets from Robert Gibbs press briefing via Politico:
Gibbs says Netanyahu and Obama spoke for two hours total -- in two meetings -- and that they had an "honest and straightforward discussion about our relationship, about regional security and about comprehensive peace efforts." Gibbs declines to discuss the substance of the talks but says Obama asked Netanyahu "to take steps to build confidence for proximity talks so that progress can be made toward comprehensive Middle East peace."
On START, which will be signed in Prague:
Gibbs says the White House is "very close" to an agreement on an arms treaty with Russia.
Financial reform:
Moving to financial regulatory reform, Gibbs says legislation will be finished "in the next couple of months" and that it is "one of the president's top priorities."
Answering a question from Lester, a WND writer (WND is a birther publication):
Asked what Obama plans to do for Democrats who voted for "Obamacare," Gibbs says he doesn't "have a political schedule in front of me," before asking the reporter, Lester Kinsolving, if his terminology was "Internet vernacular" or the name of the bill. "I was a little confused," he says.
On republican sourpusses:
Gibbs's response to the GOP call for repealing health care reform is: "If the message that Republicans want to take into a midterm election or in a presidential campaign in 2012 is, 'We want to take tax cuts away from small businesses that, they get help in providing health care to employees,' " along with other benefits, "that sounds like a heck of a good time."
Hillary Clinton met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today. Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, which advocates for reduced arsenals tells of the meeting:
