KERRY: CASE FOR CTBT ‘STRONGER THAN EVER’

By ExchangeMonitor

Secretary of State John Kerry said the case for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty is “stronger than ever” during a speech in Washington earlier this week, but he stopped short of making any commitment for the Obama Administration to push the Senate to vote on the pact. Ratification of the CTBT has been among the Obama Administration’s nuclear security pillars, though weak support among Republicans in the Senate make it unlikely the Administration will ramp up its push for the treaty during the first half of President Obama’s second term, if at all. “I was still in the United States Senate in 1999, on the losing side of a vote to ratify the CTBT. I thought it was a good idea then. I think it’s an even better idea now,” Kerry said at the Ploughshares Fund Gala at the U.S. Institute of Peace. “And in a way that we could never have imagined 14 years ago, today we can maintain a safe and secure and effective arsenal without resorting to explosive testing. In a way we that we couldn’t 14 years ago—we didn’t know how—today we have a much more advanced monitoring capacity that will ensure that the treaty is, in fact, verifiable and reliable.”

One of the objections to CTBT—and Obama’s pursuit of further stockpile reductions—from Republicans has been the Administration’s commitment to modernize the nation’s nuclear stockpile and weapons complex, but Kerry directed a budget-themed message at Congressional lawmakers. “For all those budget-conscious folks up on the Hill, in an era of difficult budgeting, it’s very important to remember these weapons and their maintenance do not come cheap,” Kerry said. “Now, I’m not suggesting that you balance that against your security, but when you know your security is well met, and completely and totally spoken for, there’s no reason to fear reducing to lower levels and reducing the capacity for other nations to feel that they have to join the crowd.” Kerry also addressed critics of Obama’s pursuit of further stockpile cuts. “I know there are some who question the twin strategies of disarmament and nonproliferation,” he said. “They think it’s somehow inconsistent. They think it makes us weak. But the simple truth remains that while our ability to deter our adversaries and protect our allies will never be compromised, as President Obama has made clear, we have more nuclear weapons today than we need to meet that standard.”

Comments are closed.