Bem, o que a Hillary fazia ontem no Senado...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/world ... ?ref=world
White House Presses Senate to Approve Russia Arms Pact
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration encountered some Republican skepticism on Tuesday about its new arms control treaty with Russia but little outright opposition that might threaten the chances of ratification by the Senate.
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Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, with Adm. Mike Mullen of the Joint Chiefs and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
As President Obama’s national security team assured the Senate that the so-called New Start treaty would not compromise American security, Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, offered his support and warned that failing to ratify it would be an “extremely precarious strategy.”
The White House had been counting on Mr. Lugar’s support to offset Republican criticism, and he spoke with some passion about the continuing threat from so many nuclear weapons, noting that a single one could devastate New York or Philadelphia. “If I become dogmatic or emotional about it,” he said, “it’s from some experience of seeing what could hit us.”
Other Republican senators, though, remained unconvinced and accused the administration of either giving away too much or failing to accomplish enough. Some peppered Mr. Obama’s senior advisers with questions about whether the administration had effectively let Russia wield veto control over future American missile defense programs, while others asked why the treaty did nothing to rein in tactical nuclear weapons.
The Obama team deflected the criticism, insisting that nothing in the treaty would inhibit missile defense plans and noting that it would re-establish a mutual inspection system that had expired last year. The advisers described the treaty as a critical step to improving relations with Moscow and bolstering solidarity against emerging nuclear powers like Iran and North Korea.
“The U.S. is better off with this treaty than without it, and I am confident that it is the right agreement for today and for the future,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the committee. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that “this treaty has the full support of your uniformed military.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the treaty would make it easier for the United States to rally the world against nuclear proliferation.
“I am not suggesting that this treaty alone will convince Iran or North Korea to change their behavior,” Mrs. Clinton said. “But it does demonstrate our leadership and strengthens our hand as we seek to hold these and other governments accountable.”
The treaty, which would bar each side from deploying more than 1,550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers, is perhaps the most tangible foreign policy accomplishment of Mr. Obama’s presidency to date, and winning ratification is one of his top priorities. The administration hopes the Senate will vote as early as this summer, but certainly by the end of the year. Russia’s Parliament is waiting for the Senate before acting.
Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and the committee chairman, was cautious about timing as he tried to build bipartisan consensus. “We should do it when we’re ready,” he said in an interview. “My goal would be to do it as soon as possible. Does that mean I’d like to get it done before the election? Absolutely. But the important thing is to get it done right.”
Mr. Kerry said he would summon two former Republican secretaries of state, Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III, to support the treaty. “The treaty’s pretty tight,” he said, “and the administration has done a pretty good job of including all the stakeholders.”
But Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said it was “absurd and dangerous” to think that the United States “should seek parity” with Russia given America’s unique role in the world. “Russia doesn’t have 30 countries counting on them for protection,” Mr. DeMint said.
Mr. DeMint took issue with nonbinding language in the treaty and a separate Russian statement noting Moscow’s concerns about missile defense. “For us to even include in the treaty the idea that these things are interrelated is somewhat frightening to me,” Mr. DeMint said.
Mrs. Clinton said the language would not constrain American missile defense plans, just as similar statements in the past had not. “The facts really refute any concerns that you and others might have,” she told Mr. DeMint.
Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, noted that Russia already has fewer launchers than the ceiling in the new treaty. “Did we really get anything in this treaty at all?” Mr. Corker asked. “We’re the ones that are actually making cuts, not them.”
Mr. Gates noted that Russia still had more warheads than would be allowed. “They will be reducing the number of warheads,” he said.
Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, pointed out that the treaty would permit fewer inspections than the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, which expired in December. Under the new treaty, each side could conduct 18 inspections a year instead of the 28 inspections permitted in the past.
Obama advisers said American inspectors would have to monitor only 27 nuclear facilities in Russia today, compared with 73 monitored in the old Soviet Union.
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