It’s Time for the Senate to Vote on New START

The following is an opinion piece. It does not reflect the opinion of MDAA in any way, shape or form.

The Senate should promptly vote to approve the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START) with Russia for one reason: It increases U.S. national security. This is precisely why Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared at the outset of Senate consideration of the treaty that it has “the unanimous support of America’s military leadership.”

The treaty reduces and caps the Russian nuclear arsenal. It reestablishes and makes stronger the verification procedures that allow U.S. inspectors to conduct on-site inspections and surveillance of Russian nuclear weapons and facilities. It strengthens international efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism, and it opens the door to progress on further critical nonproliferation efforts, such as reducing Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has urged the Senate to ratify the treaty, and seven former Strategic Command (STRATCOM) chiefs have called on Senate leaders to move quickly.

New Redstone Arsenal Commander says Coming Here a ‘Win, Win, Win’ for Family

HUNTSVILLE, AL – One day, Jim Rogers went fishing and caught a career.

He was about 13, growing up on a lake in Michigan, and what he actually landed was a big Northern pike. When Rogers went to have the fish mounted, he struck up a friendship with a man going to the University of Michigan who would do the work for a good price – and who also happened to be a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Russian Defense Minister to Discuss Cooperation With Gates on U.S. Visit

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will visit the U.S. next week to discuss issues such as anti-missile defense, disarmament and global stability with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Serdyukov will meet with Gates in Washington, visit the U.S. Naval Academy and tour an infantry base from Sept. 14-16, the minister’s spokeswoman, Irina Kovalchuk, said today in an e- mailed statement.

The talks with Gates are part of the “continuing consultations on disarmament programs, anti-missile defense, military cooperation and common responsibility for preserving strategic stability,” Sergei Prikhodko, President Dmitry Medvedev’s foreign policy aide, said in an interview.