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opinion:
our view
U.S.,
Russia to sign historic nuclear arms reduction treaty
The United States and Russia reached an agreement to begin
cutting the two superpowers nuclear arsenals by two-thirds
over the next decade. The treaty, the first of its kind in
more than a decade, will be signed by President Bush and Russian
President Vladimir Putin during Bush's visit to Moscow next
week.
Even with the two leaders signatures, the treaty will still
have to be passed by the Senate and Russia's State Duma.
The treaty calls for a reduction of stockpiles of nuclear
warheads from 5,000 to 6,000 on each side to 1,700 to 2,200.
The nuclear arms treaty is a refreshing turn of events that
showcases the increasingly good relationship between two countries
that were the bitterest of enemies with fingers poised over
the button. Any remnants of the Cold War should now be obliterated.
But while the United States and Russia are scaling back their
stockpiles of nuclear weapons, both countries will still have
ample warheads to destroy each other. The United States also
recently pulled out of the anti-ballistic missile treaty so
that it could work on new missile defense projects.
No matter how many treaties are signed, handshakes made or
smiles shared in front of cameras, the United States and Russia
are still fearful of some sort of attack.
What is mildly disturbing about this new treaty is that the
stipulations are relatively hazy. Either country may withdraw
from the treaty with only three months notice, each side decides
how many warheads will be dismantled, placed in storage or
kept on standby and the treaty stipulates that no nuclear
warheads need to be destroyed. There is no discussion in the
treaty of nuclear arms delivery vehicles such as missiles,
bombers and submarines.
There is a possible backlash from the reduction of nuclear
warheads, especially in Russia. We all have been told that
Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other threats to the United
States are actively pursuing nuclear weapons. Russia has been
accused repeatedly of mishandling its own cache of weapons
and even selling warheads on the black market.
The monitoring of warhead removal is not resolved in the treaty
but we feel that it is the biggest concern with nuclear weapons
reduction. Terrorists or rouge nations with little to no self
control must not be allowed to get their grubby hands on nuclear
weapons. It is imperative that some monitoring group watches
over the reduction of arms in Russia and the United States
to ensure that nothing ends up in the hands of the wrong people.
The Cold War is over and we have little to fear from Russia.
The nuclear arms reduction treaty is a wonderful step toward
world peace but we feel that certain measures must be taken
to ensure that nuclear arms do not end up in the wrong hands.
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