Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 2. juni 2008
/ Time Line June 2, 2008
Version 3.5
1. juni 2008, 3. juni 2008
06/02/2008
John McCain Discovers Nuclear Arms Control and
Disarmament
By Lawrence S.
Wittner
On May 27, in a major public address delivered at the University of
Denver, Republican presidential candidate John McCain took what
appeared to be a strong stand in favor of nuclear arms control and
disarmament.
In the speech, McCain argued that "it is our responsibility to
build" a world in which there are "far fewer" nuclear weapons "than
there are today." Therefore, he said, "the time has come to take
further measures to reduce dramatically the number of nuclear
weapons in the world's arsenals." Among the nuclear arms control
and disarmament actions he suggested were "taking another look at
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty" (which would ban all nuclear
test explosions), canceling "all further work on the so-called
Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator" (better known as the nuclear
bunker-buster), and negotiating "a new arms control agreement with
Russia."
Citing former President's Ronald Reagan's statement that his
"dream" was "to see the day when nuclear weapons will be banished
from the face of the Earth," McCain stated: "That is my dream,
too."
It was certainly a very impressive speech, if it is to be taken
seriously. But is it?
McCain, it should be noted, voted against the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty in 1999, thus helping to block its ratification and to
ensure that it became the first U.S. security-related treaty to go
down to defeat in 80 years. Furthermore, even now, after its
ratification by numerous other U.S. allies (including Britain,
Germany, and France), he has not said that he will support it--only
that he will take "another look" at the treaty "to see what can be
done to overcome the shortcomings that prevented it from entering
into force." (What, one wonders, are these "shortcomings"?)
McCain's opposition to the nuclear bunker-buster also rings rather
hollow. The bunker-buster project has been dead for some time, as
Congress blocked funding for it three years ago. Moreover, at that
time, McCain stuck with the Bush administration insistence on
building this new nuclear weapon and voted to fund it.
Opponents of nuclear weapons can certainly take heart at McCain's
call for a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia. After all,
Russia and the United States possess more than 90 percent of the
world's nuclear weapons. But these opponents might question the
treaty's feasibility, given McCain's consistently belligerent
stance toward Russia. Contemptuous of the Kremlin's criticism of
installing a U.S. missile defense system on Russia's borders,
McCain pontificated in October 2007, during the GOP presidential
candidates' debate: "The first thing I would do is make sure that
we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia [sic]
and Poland, and I don't care what his [Vladimir Putin's] objections
are to it." In addition, McCain has proposed expelling Russia from
the G-8 and creating a rival body to the United Nations from which
Russia would be excluded. Taken together, these items do not
provide a promising terrain for future nuclear arms control
negotiations.
Nor can nuclear critics take much comfort in the fact that one of
McCain's top foreign policy advisors is John Bolton. As U.S.
Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Disarmament and as
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton probably did more
than any other government official to see to it that the Bush
administration blocked progress toward nuclear arms control and
disarmament.
Why, then, did McCain make his nuclear disarmament speech a few
days ago? The answer, it seems, is that he is now in a hot race for
the presidency.
McCain's campaign strategists must be aware of the fact that, for
years, a large majority of the U.S. public has regarded nuclear
weapons with distaste. Surveyed in late 2007, 74 percent of
Americans reported that they supported "eliminating all nuclear
weapons in the world through an enforceable agreement." The backing
is even more overwhelming when it comes to the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty. A recent poll found that 80 percent of Americans
thought their country "should participate in the treaty that would
prohibit nuclear test explosions worldwide."
Moreover, the Democrats seem poised to reap the political benefits
of this sentiment.
Barack Obama has called for the building of a nuclear-free
world, while Hillary Clinton has championed sharp reductions in
nuclear arsenals. Both Democrats strongly back the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty and have promised to work at gaining its
ratification by the U.S. Senate.
In this political context, McCain stands to lose badly-needed votes
by clinging to the pro-nuclear policies of the Bush administration.
As a Washington Post article pointed out, McCain's Denver speech
"appears to be an effort to sketch out a nonproliferation policy
that was distinct from both President Bush and the leading
Democrats."
Of course, it's too bad that Americans have to wait until a
presidential election campaign before a candidate discovers the
virtues of supporting nuclear arms control and disarmament. But
some would-be power wielders are slow learners.
06/02/2008
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