AFF/CTBT: EXTENSION – CTBT RATIFICATION CREATES A NEW SPIRIT OF BIPARTISANSHIP

AFF/CTBT: EXTENSION — CTBT RATIFICATION CREATES A NEW SPIRIT OF BIPARTISANSHIP

PASSING THE CTBT CAN BE A SUCCESSFUL BIPARTISAN EFFORT

Harold Brown Melvin R. Laird and William J. Perry; all former Defense Secretaries, January 9, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune SECTION: OPINION;Pg. B-7 HEADLINE: America needs the test-ban treaty //VT2002acsln

Much media attention has been focused on Cabinet selections and partisan politics. But it has become clear that any legislative success in the 107th Congress will require a coalition of centrists from both sides of the aisle.

Nowhere is bipartisan cooperation more important than in the realm of national security. The new Congress must identify issues on which bipartisan agreement is possible.

The spread of weapons of mass destruction is one such issue. Seeking a bipartisan approach to nuclear nonproliferation should be among the principal goals of the next administration and Congress.

Historically, nonproliferation measures have enjoyed strong support from both sides of the aisle. We need to reinvigorate that support. A good way to start would be to consider the recommendations in the report issued by Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, special adviser to the president and the secretary of state for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

THERE IS NOW BROAD BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR THE CTBT

John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997, January 06, 2001, The Washington Post SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A21 HEADLINE: The Test Ban Solution //VT2002acsln

After the Senate voted against the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in October 1999, I was asked to recommend steps to build bipartisan support for U.S. ratification. After nearly a year as a special adviser to the president and the secretary of state, I am impressed by how much common ground can be found through quiet, nonpartisan discussions. There is broad bipartisan agreement that nuclear proliferation ranks among the gravest threats to national security.

BIPARTISAN MAJORITY IN THE SENATE WANTS TO RECONSIDER THE CTBT

As a result, shortly before the vote, 62 senators signed a letter to Sens. Trent Lott, R.-Miss., and Tom Daschle, D.-S.D., urging that final consideration of the treaty be put off until the next Congress. A clear, bipartisan majority, with a wide range of individual views on ratification, deemed this issue sufficiently important to delay a vote until cooler heads -- and more thorough consideration -- could prevail. This treaty is too important for the vote of the last Congress to be the final word.

Now Shalikashvili, in his report to the president, proposes 16 recommendations and reservations that we believe deserve careful consideration by the Bush administration.

CTBT RATIFICATION WOULD LEAD TO OTHER BIPARTISAN EFFORTS

The review proposal, coupled with other steps recommended by Gen. Shalikashvili, provides appropriate insurance that America can preserve the advantage of its nuclear arsenal while limiting further development of offensive nuclear weaponry.

Advancing nuclear nonproliferation is a bipartisan goal worth pursuing. Success in ratifying the test-ban treaty would be a first step toward bipartisan cooperation on other crucial matters of national security.