Jeanne Shaheen: “I think most of us believe we should not play partisan politics when it comes to nuclear weapons. But in a speech this…”

“I think most of us believe we should not play partisan politics when it comes to nuclear weapons. But in a speech this morning at the Heritage Foundation, my colleagues, our colleague, Senator Jim DeMint, claimed the new START treaty weakens our national security. I like our colleague from South Carolina. He has been the ranking member on the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, which I have chaired for the last 2 years, and we have worked very well together. But on this issue he is just wrong. Nearly the entire foreign policy and national security establishment, Democrats and Republicans alike, completely disagree with him. Senator DeMint is arguing that this treaty somehow weakens our national security and limits our strategic options. That argument has little basis in reality and is opposed by every living former Republican Secretary of State, five former Secretaries of Defense, seven former commanders of our strategic nuclear weapons, foreign policy and national security giants from seven former Presidential administrations and former President George H.W. Bush. All of these national security heavyweights argue the exact opposite of Senator DeMint, and they all agree the new START treaty strengthens our national security. The new START treaty has the unanimous backing of America's military leadership and America's NATO allies. According to the most recent CBS news poll, the treaty now has the support of 82 percent of Americans.”