Tag: Treaty

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.