Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

DoD Buzz reports today that Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz (the man in charge of protecting, arming and delivering the Air Force’s share of nuclear weapons) can be added to the large list of experts and military personnel who support the New START Treaty.

“My sense is that the START Treaty ought to be ratified and ought to be ratified as soon as possible,” Klotz told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast this morning.  

And on the claim that the Warren Air Force base mishap marks “one of the most serious and sizable ruptures in nuclear command and control in history?”  Klotz essentially yelled “bullshit”:

Here is how Klotz described it.  He said the missile crews “…temporarily lost the ability to monitor the status of 50 missiles…” The problem was caused by an “equipment malfunction in one of the silos.” Once the crews had gone through their checklist and isolated the problem they were able to fix it. Klotz told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast today that this is not the first time such incidents had occurred. “I think it has absolutely no link at all to the START Treaty,” he said. Two “similar events” took place in 1998, he added. Senior Air Force leaders have been at pains to make clear that the US retained the ability to launch the missiles and never lost command and control between the silos and the national command authority.

Of course, you can bet that the Heritage Foundation will dismiss Klotz’ remarks as just another instance of a General toeing the Administration’s line.  Don’t listen to them.  As Travis noted a while back:

The fact is that numerous military leaders have affirmed that the Obama administration’s nuclear weapons initiatives were developed through close cooperation between civilian and military officials. Nothing was imposed on anyone….Military officials have endorsed New START because they were involved in its creation and believe in its substance. To assert otherwise is to question their integrity.

Update 11/10/10: That’s not all Klotz said. Cheryl Pellerin with the Armed Forces Press Service reports further:

“The secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commander of [U.S.] Strategic Command and virtually every former commander of Strategic Command have very cogent and compelling arguments in favor of ratifying the treaty,” he said.

Klotz, who has been working in arms control and arms control policy since the mid-1970s, said such a treaty facilitates important communication between the two largest nuclear powers.

“It’s critically important that the United States and Russia … have a continuous dialog on issues related to nuclear policy, including such areas as security, safety and command and control,” he said.

“This type of interaction in which the arms control treaties are the centerpiece, the nexus around which all that takes place, are critically important for understanding, for transparency and for openness between the two largest nuclear powers,” the general added.

There’s been a lot of good opining around the blogosphere today about how it’s important for the Senate to get serious on New START now that the midterm elections are behind us.  Actually, it was important before the midterms too, but such is life – Senate life in 2010, that is.  Here’s a sampling:

Via the State Department: The New START Treaty: It’s Time for the Senate to Vote
Highlight: “Prepared and Ready. The Senate has been provided extensive information – 18 hearings, dozens of briefings and meetings, answers to over 900 questions for the
record, and hundreds of pages of reports, analysis and testimony.”

Via the Council for a Livable Word: Council for a Livable World’s 2010 Senate Election Analysis
Highlight: “We hope that in the next coming weeks, the Senate will give its advice and consent to the New START nuclear reductions treaty. That would be one way to advance American national security interests in what will be a significantly difficult political environment.”

Via the Union of Concerned Scientists: New Senate, New START on Track
Highlight: “Yesterday’s election results do not alter the chances for the Senate to provide its advice and consent to the New START arms control agreement. In fact, the treaty provides an excellent test case for whether the Senate will listen to the small minority of “anti-any treaty” arms control opponents, or to the overwhelming advice of the country’s military leadership and intelligence community in favor of New START. It should be a no-brainer.”

Via the Arms Control Association: New START After the Mid-Term Election
Highlight: “Senate leaders now need to put a tough campaign behind them and put U.S. national security first by acting to approve New START this year and not delaying it until next year.”

Via Laura Rozen: Kerry urges START ratification by end of year
Highlight: “It will take a week or so to sort out the pieces, but prospects for Senate approval of the New START treaty still look good,” said arms control proponent Joe Cirincione of the Plougshares Fund. “This could be the first real test of whether the Republican Party is willing to govern responsibly.”

So will it happen before the end of the year?  To borrow a famous phrase: It’s too soon to tell.  

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