Bolton, DeSutter suggest New START lacks GOP support

Bolton, DeSutter suggest New START lacks GOP support. In an October 19 Washington Times op-ed, Bolton and DeSutter wrote:

New START is anything but noncontroversial. Four Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted against reporting the treaty, and the three Republicans who supported it did so only after expressing serious concerns and caveats. One of the three, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, made clear that his vote in the committee was no guarantee of how he would vote on the Senate floor.

In fact, numerous Republicans have urged ratification of New START

National security experts, including numerous Republicans, support START. The Partnership for a Secure America, founded by former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-NH) and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN), issued a statement supporting New START's ratification signed by 30 former public officials and former high-ranking national security and foreign policy experts, including George H.W. Bush White House chief of Staff Kenneth M. Duberstein, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Reagan Secretary of State George Schultz. Below is the full list of the statement's signers:

Madeleine Albright Secretary of State 1997-2001
Howard Baker US Senator (R-TN) 1967-85
Samuel Berger National Security Advisor 1997-2001
Linton Brooks Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration 2002-07
Harold Brown Secretary of Defense 1977-81
Frank Carlucci Secretary of Defense 1987-89
Warren Christopher Secretary of State 1993-97
William Cohen Secretary of Defense 1997-2001
John C. Danforth US Senator (R-MO) 1977-95
Kenneth M. Duberstein White House Chief of Staff 1988-89
Chuck Hagel US Senator (R-NE) 1997-2009
Lee Hamilton US Congressman (D-IN) 1965-99; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Gary Hart US Senator (D-CO) 1975-87
Rita E. Hauser Chair, International Peace Institute
Carla Hills US Trade Representative 1989-93
Nancy Kassebaum-Baker US Senator (R-KS) 1978-97
Thomas Kean Governor (R-NJ) 1982-90; 9/11 Commission Chair
Richard Leone President, The Century Foundation
Donald McHenry US Ambassador to the UN 1979-81
Sam Nunn US Senator (D-GA) 1972-96
William Perry Secretary of Defense 1994-97
Thomas Pickering Under Secretary of State 1997-2000
Colin L. Powell Secretary of State 2001-05
Warren Rudman US Senator (R-NH) 1980-92; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Alan Simpson US Senator (R-WY) 1979-97
George Shultz Secretary of State 1982-89
Theodore Sorensen White House Special Counsel 1961-63
John Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State 1985-88
Timothy E. Wirth US Senator (D-CO) 1987-93
Frank Wisner Under Secretary of State 1992-93

Brent Scowcroft: "[P]rincipal result of non- ratification would be ... a state of chaos." Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, National Security adviser to Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush Gen. Brent Scowcroft testified (accessed via Nexis): “I think the principal result of non- ratification would be to throw the whole nuclear negotiating situation into a state of chaos, and the reason this treaty is important is over the decades we have built up all these counting rules, all these verification procedures and so on, so that each side feels, 'Yes, we can take these steps.'” Scowcroft continued: “If you wipe those out, you're back to zero again, and they've taken since the late 1960s to put together. So that's the real part of it.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 6/10/10]

Henry Kissinger: “I recommend ratification of this treaty.” Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Henry Kissinger testified “In deciding on ratification, the concerns need to be measured against the consequences of non-ratification, particularly interrupting a [bilateral arms control] process that has been going on for decades, the relationship to the NPT, and to the attempt to achieve a strategic coherence. And so, for all these reasons, I recommend ratification of this treaty.” Kissinger also stated: “Concerns have been raised with respect to missile defense and with respect to [nuclear] modernization. I agree with the Chairman. I do not believe this treaty is an obstacle to a missile defense program or modernization. Those are decisions that the United States can and should take as part of its own strategic design.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 5/25/10]

Former GOP Sen. Jake Garn: “The Senate should ratify [New Start] promptly.” In a September 22 Washington Times op-ed co-written with Scowcroft, former Sen. Jake Garn (R-UT) wrote: “We are writing to urge that the Senate move promptly to ratify [New START]. The arguments that have been advanced in favor of the treaty are strong and compelling.”