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TITLE: Clinton Gets Nuke Test Ban Report |
AUTHOR: Leigh Strope |
PUB: Associated Press |
DATE: January 5, 2001 |
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President Clinton on Friday urged the Senate to place the nuclear test ban treaty high on its agenda after receiving a report concluding that without it, the United States would be less effective in halting the spread of nuclear weapons. Clinton met for a half-hour with retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Clinton asked to review the comprehensive test ban treaty after Senate Republicans rejected it in 1999. In a statement, Clinton said the recommendations in Shalikashvili's report make a persuasive argument that the benefits the United States would reap from the treaty, in terms of national security, "outweigh any perceived disadvantages.'' "I urge Congress and the incoming Bush administration to act on them. I also hope the Senate will take up the treaty at an early date,'' Clinton said. Shalikashvili told reporters there are three areas in which the United States could "take positive steps now'' to strengthen its position under the treaty: stewardship of the nuclear stockpile, verifying nuclear testing elsewhere in the world and developing an ``overarching strategy'' on nuclear weapons development. "The treaty has, in fact, an important part in an overall strategy,'' Shalikashvili said. "It is one of the tools we ought to consider in our toolbox that would help us deal with what, after all, is one of the recognized, important dangers to our nuclear security.'' President-elect Bush has opposed the pact, saying it was unenforceable, though his top advisers have been divided. Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell, himself a former Joint Chiefs chairman, supported it while Bush's pick for defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has said he is against it. Excerpts from Shalikashvili's report, obtained by The Associated Press, recommend measures to build support for the treaty, including greater efforts to maintain the United States' nuclear arsenal and a joint review by the Senate and administration every 10 years. The report also recommends appointing a deputy national security adviser for nonproliferation, who would have authority to coordinate and oversee policy in that area. And it made a pair of suggestions for the incoming Bush administration: Review issues related to the test ban treaty "at the highest level'' while making a sustained effort to address senators' questions, and leave the U.S. testing moratorium in place "to demonstrate its commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.'' The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was completed in 1996, but it cannot take effect until it has been approved by the United States and 43 other nations that have nuclear research or power reactors. Britain, France and Russia have signed and ratified the accord. China has signed the agreement, but has yet to ratify it. North Korea has not signed, and India and Pakistan, which have engaged in a nuclear arms race in South Asia, also have not. The treaty was defeated by the Senate in 1999. Supporters have argued that U.S. ratification is essential to persuade other nations to accept the treaty. "The view of the chairman and the chiefs has been that while there are risks with this treaty, as with most treaties, the advantages in helping the fight against proliferation outweigh the disadvantages,'' Shalikashvili told The New York Times. END |