Report finds Russians may not be in compliance, could sink new START pact

[Ross K]

Source: The Washington Post

The United States believes Russia is not fully complying with international pacts involving chemical and biological weapons, although Moscow has settled most questions about violations of a nuclear arms treaty with the United States, according to a State Department report to be made public Wednesday.

The State Department Compliance Report had been requested earlier this month by seven of the eight Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They were concerned because the last report in 2005 highlighted what they described as "direct violations of START I by the Russians, " a reference to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed in 1991.

The report comes at a crucial time, as the Senate considers a new treaty that would replace START I. The Obama administration hopes to have it ratified by year's end, when Democrats will likely lose some of their Senate seats. The Foreign Relations Committee could vote on the treaty as early as next week.

But key Republicans are establishing tough conditions for approval -- including ironclad commitments from the White House to dramatically increase spending on the maintenance of the nuclear-weapons complex. President Obama has tried to address those concerns by laying out a plan to spend $80 billion on the nuclear weapons complex over the next decade.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/27/AR2010072706048_pf.html

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Gol-durn Russkies! I still don't trust 'em!

[dipsydoodle]

1. Both countries still hold stocks of small pox virus

and as such are as bad as each other.

[bemildred]

2. So lemee guess, these senators hate the new treaty and want to sabotage it? nt

[L0oniX]

3. My bet is that we also are not in compliance ...with a lot of things.

[David__77]

4. Indeed. I'm sure the Russian FSB has information in that regard.

But they are wiser to hold that information in reserve.

[David__77]

5. More war propaganda from Washington Post.

They are among the worst when it comes to cheerleading for wars both hot and cold.

[unkachuck]

6. "...$80 billion on the nuclear weapons complex..."

....we wouldn't want to chump the war-mongers....

....and no matter what the US and Russia announce to have agreed to in START treaties, the rest of the world will think it's mostly bullshit anyway....wouldn't you?