If the Senate fails to ratify the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the U.S. government could have to divert money from troops on the ground in Afghanistan to build up nuclear capabilities, a senior State Department official warned today. Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation Rose Gottemoeller emphasized that the treaty, called New START, would allow inspectors back into the Russian nuclear sites -- where they have not been since the START expired last December. These inspectors...
