Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
6/13/2014
Calling Russia’s actions to test a land-based cruise missile a “material breach” of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee pressed President Obama this week to take action against Russia. Speaking at the Capitol Hill Club June 11, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) criticized Obama for remaining silent on Russia’s possible INF Treaty violations, which were brought to light earlier this year. “There is no doubt—and I mean no doubt—that Russia’s actions transcend mere violations and constitute a material breach of this central arms control treaty. Yet the President has been unwilling to engage them.”
The INF Treaty that was signed by the Soviet Union and the United States in 1987 required each country to get rid of missiles with ranges of 300 and 4,000 miles, and the accord also prevents each country from testing or building such weapons. Reports earlier this year suggested that top State Department officials met with NATO allies in January to provide info on alleged Russian tests of a new land-based cruise missile that violates the treaty.
‘What Lesson has Russia Learned From This?’
The State Department has only said that it has brought the matter up with Russia and that it was unsatisfied with its response, but has not moved to take any action. “What lesson has Russia learned from this?” Rogers said. “Well we certainly know what they’re doing. … Such failures send a message to Russia, and I fear it’s that we won’t seriously confront this or other belligerent behavior.”
Rogers suggested that it was unacceptable that the annual State Department compliance report has been delayed for nearly two months. The compliance report would likely include information about the potential Russian violations, and it was due to Congress April 15. “Depending on your calendar we are two months or six years past the point the President should have declared Russia to have broken the INF Treaty yet we’ve heard nothing from the President on this. We’ve heard nothing from the Secretary of State [John Kerry], and he promised bold action in December 2012 before he was confirmed by the Senate.”
Rogers added: “It’s a strange and concerning approach to dealing with a country that has made a point of challenging our policies and interests at every turn. Those of you in this room who believe in arms control, it is an affront to that which you believe in that it is regarded with so little seriousness by this Administration, its compliance. After all, arms control obligations, if they’re not worth enforcing, what’s the point in having them?”
Rogers Accuses Admin. of Starving Weapons Program
Rogers also criticized the Obama Administration for not providing enough support to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal and weapons complex. Republicans have complained that the Administration has not lived up to the modernization promises it made during debate on the New START Treaty, most notably deferring work on the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility. The Administration requested a $533 million increase for the NNSA’s weapons program in Fiscal Year 2015, but Republicans have been unconvinced that it meets projections made during debate on New START. “I’m convinced that the Administration is trying to starve some of these programs to the point that its unreasonable to try to modernize them,” he said. “If we keep getting behind it’s going to get to the point to where the costs are insurmountable. We’ve got to recognize that the world is still very dangerous and what’s happened in the last two years has made it really clear the world is still dangerous and we need to modernize, and make sure that while these are the state of the art, they are the state of the art.”
