Story Published:
Dec 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Dec 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM CDT
Tennessee senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker voted to ratify the S.T.A.R.T. Treaty as one of the final acts of the now-finished Lame Duck Congress. Alexander launched into a breathless defense of his reasons for voting the way he did. I haven't read of Corker's reasons. It's good enough when one realizes that both are dyed-in-the-wool RINOs. They stand out like sore thumbs in a State that is rapidly swinging toward conservatism. I didn't say Republican, as you will note.
The S.T.A.R.T. Treaty is dangerous for the United States. It does not balance the scales relative to the U. S. and Russia's nuclear warheads. It weakens our ability to deploy a missile defense system that will protect America. And, after all that's Job #1 as far as the Constitution dictates. The Russians have said that if we alter the Treaty they will reject it.
Iran is selling missiles to Venezuela and Hugo Chavez. This flies in the face of JFK's doctrine that missiles will not be tolerated in the Western Hemisphere that pose a direct threat to the United States. This is exactly why we almost went to war with the old Soviet Union in October, 1962. Those who were alive will well remember that nail-biting time. As a 22-year old, I will never forget it.
Why do we need a treaty with Russia to spend $85B over ten years to upgrade our nuclear warheads? And that's part of the Treaty. America is not an aggressor nation. We have no imperialistic designs on other nations. If we were, Germany and Japan would not have been rebuilt and would not now be our allies.
As it stands, the Treaty will allow both sides to have 1550 nuclear warheads. How do we know that Russia will abide by the Treaty. Putin hates us. And you can bet that Medvedev hates us too. His flashy smile is nothing more than a front for another America hater. Remember Ronald Reagan said, "Trust but verify." Let's scrap this and go our own way. We do not ever need to trust Russia. After all, they said some 50 years ago that they would bury us without firing a shot.
