Michael Powell
Staff Writer
One of the central issues of this coming decade will be the eradication of nuclear weapons. Currently, Russia and the United States are in possession of the largest stockpiles of enriched Uranium and nuclear warheads. Both of these nations have, in the years since the Cold War, taken steps at disarmament. But why can’t the United States lead by example and just get rid of these Armageddon-causing weapons?
The answer is a complex one, one deeply rooted in political and diplomatic woes. However, on the US front, the biggest obstacle to bilateral disarmament has been our political framework. Since the elections in November, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) has been a source of partisan conflict.
The weakened Democrats in the House and Senate face tough years ahead due to a Republican majority. Formerly, the Republicans backed away from disarmament because it meant a loss of funding in the defense industry, and the moderate Democrats were too afraid to take decisive action, even with a majority. However, the Democratic party, since its devastating loss in November, has been stripped of its weak elements and is now a strong, reinvigorated, new Democratic party.
The litmus test for the strength of this new Democratic party was the passage of the START. The Democrats had the necessary super majority in both houses for two years, but failed to act. Their weakness when in the majority consequently led to their defeat and made the START wait until the Republicans were in charge.
The Democrats made sure, however, that START would pass before the Holiday vacation. They twisted arms and made deals to make sure that the United States would lead the world by example by cutting its nuclear arsenal. This type of leadership and strength was wholly absent when they had a super majority in both houses of Congress.
START conditions include that each involved nation cuts their nuclear arsenal in half, including inter-continental ballistic missiles and bomber-based nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia have taken big strides in cutting down their arsenals, but due to the profitability of war, the missiles still number in the thousands. With the passage of START, the world will begin to evolve into a place free of missiles that threaten the very existence of man-kind. Other than the prospects of multilateral disarmament, the political implications of the treaty are extremely important to the United States.
By showing the country, and the world, that a weakened Democratic Party can still lead, the country is in much better shape than previously assumed. This lame-duck session has set a precedent that, although for the past two years the Republicans obstructed and denounced everything, the Democrats will make sure that the United States will adhere to international law and lead the charge for nuclear non-proliferation.
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