Tag: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

The Trump administration withdrew from the so-called INF Treaty (Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty) earlier this month after accusing Moscow of years of non-compliance. The Europeans were hoping for some indication of what the U.S.’s next move would be, but went home none the wiser from the annual gathering of leaders, ministers and policymakers from around the world. "We cannot start another nuclear arms race,” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said in an interview with POLITICO, urging an immediate effort to build a new treaty that would also include China. What does Mr. Trump want? This is not our view.” Security analysts say the real reason Donald Trump pulled out of the treaty was over concern that China, which is not bound by the INF, could deploy precisely the type of weapons Washington was banned from producing. "It’s a lose-lose situation.” Nunn was part of a group that came to Munich to urge leaders to try to preserve and modernize the INF. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and other leaders took pains in Munich to reassure the public that the U.S. has no intention of stationing mid-range nuclear weapons in Europe in response to the treaty’s collapse. “The answer can’t lie in a blind race to build more weapons.” The U.S. and Russia have six months to resurrect the treaty, but most observers say that’s unlikely. “Frankly, Russia possesses those missiles, they are deployed and they're violating the INF Treaty,” he told POLITICO, arguing that European concerns are more about symbolism than strategic reality. “It looks bad because one of the iconic treaties of the beginning of the end of the Cold War is over, but why do we need a treaty that’s not enforced?” he said.

What We’re Following Today It’s Friday, February 1. Meanwhile, in foreign-affairs news, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he’s withdrawing the U.S. from its nuclear-arms-control treaty with Russia. "For years, Russia has violated the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty without remorse," he said. He’s Running: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey spent Thursday night at a secret church service in Newark, where he was anointed by the church’s reverend. Twelve hours later, he announced his bid for the presidency in 2020. Meanwhile, as Howard Schultz, the billionaire ex-CEO of Starbucks, ponders whether he’ll launch his own presidential campaign, his many similarities to Donald Trump have become clear. Snapshot Ideas From The Atlantic The Covington Story Was a Collective American Nightmare (George Packer) “It seems to act out a drama in which we’re all caught, but in grotesque exaggeration. The White Flight From Football (Alana Semuels) “Football at the high-school level is growing in popularity in states with the highest shares of black people, while it’s declining in majority-white states. But it would be the end of the Super Bowl as we know it.” ? Read on. I’ve Watched Him for 20 Years.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted President Trump’s suspension of a 32-year-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia on Friday as dangerous and irresponsible, and warned it could prompt a new arms race. Pompeo said that if Russia isn’t abiding by the treaty, then neither will the U.S., starting a six-month countdown until the agreement officially ends. But Pelosi, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee before she became speaker for the first time a dozen years ago, said the administration should have tried to work through its differences with Russia before moving to kill the treaty. But to throw it out like that is a gift to Vladimir Putin.” Pelosi’s fear is that, freed of having to even appear to abide by the treaty, Putin will embark on an arms race in which Russia will put missiles even closer to NATO nations. “What do the Russians have on the president politically, financially or personally that he is their handmaiden?” Pelosi said. She also expressed concern about Friday’s move in light of a U.S. intelligence threat assessment that Russia and China “are more aligned than at any point since the mid-1950s.” The assessment said Russia and China are growing stronger “across all domains,” including in their quest for “technological and military superiority.” Pelosi said she is concerned that Trump is ignoring what intelligence agencies are reporting about Russia and other U.S. adversaries. He doesn’t have to know the facts, so he doesn’t have to act upon them.” Asked by reporters at the White House about Pelosi’s concerns about an arms race, Trump said, “Honestly, I don’t think she has a clue, I really don’t. She doesn’t know and I wish she did because she’s running this country so badly. Trump told the New York Times in an interview posted late Thursday that “if she doesn’t approve a wall,” congressional negotiations about border security are “just a waste of money and time and energy.” Having failed to get Democrats to give him money for a wall during the 35-day partial shutdown of the government, Trump is now broadly hinting that he’ll try to secure funding by declaring a national emergency on the southern border. Pelosi told The Chronicle that the president’s comments were “classic Trump ... by projecting his own shortcomings in terms of this wall discussion onto me.” “The president’s comments are par for the course for him.

_____________________ Jamal Khashoggi is dead, said Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s government said on Friday that Jamal Khashoggi, the missing Saudi dissident who was a columnist for the Washington Post, was strangled during a fistfight with its agents inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. President Trump appeared to accept Saudi Arabia’s explanation on Friday. [Read the story] American intelligence officials, however, are increasingly convinced that Mr. Khashoggi was the victim of a planned killing and that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is culpable. [Read the story] Additional Reading • Khashoggi Disappearance May Disrupt Trump Administration’s Plans to Squeeze Iran • News Analysis: In Trump’s Saudi Bargain, the Bottom Line Proudly Wins Out • Khashoggi’s Disappearance Puts Kushner’s Bet on Saudi Crown Prince at Risk The Justice Department accused Russians of meddling in the midterms. [Read the story] Mr. Trump praised an assault on a reporter during a rally on Thursday and railed against immigration during another on Friday. Democratic candidates in key congressional races are outpacing their Republican opponents in fund-raising, according to an analysis of reports filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission. But huge checks from conservative donors are assuring that their side stays competitive. [Read the story] Additional Reading • As Other Republican Candidates Struggle Financially, Trump Stockpiles Cash • Who Raised More Money? He is seen as the G.O.P.’s best opportunity to flip a Democratic seat in November.