Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I support this treaty. The support is overwhelming, and it is bipartisan. The fact that the entire defense establishment and the Pentagon supports this treaty should be significant. The questions that have been raised about the modernization of our, basically, arsenal of nuclear weapons are legitimate. But they are questions that are constantly tended to not only by the appropriate committees in the Congress but by the defense and national security establishment. The Cold War has now been over for two decades. The United States and Russia still possess 90 percent of the nuclear weapons. The fact is, we need stability in these huge arsenals of nuclear weapons between our two countries. To have this stability then allows us to be able to confront the rest of the world and the dangers that exist with regard to a potential nuclear threat. While our nuclear triad remains an important component to our overall national security, it is no longer necessary for us to maintain such a huge stockpile. We are facing new threats, and we need new answers. Here is what we know about the bottom line. This treaty enhances cooperation with Russia. It allows for onsite inspections. It allows for verification of Russia's nuclear arsenal. It also demonstrates to a worldwide audience our commitment to oversight and monitoring of nuclear weapons. This START treaty reduces the number of nuclear warheads in Russia by 30 percent. Preventing a nuclear terrorist attack is paramount.…”