FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Trump-Putin Summit May Raise Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
July 14, 2018 (EIRNS)—The U.S. and Russian Presidents may raise the topic of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, including in the context of the United States’ deployment in Romania of “launching pads capable of firing not only interceptors, but also smart Tomahawk missiles,” Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov stated, reported TASS.
Though otherwise buying the nonsense about Russia’s “malign behavior,” former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, co-chairmen of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, fully endorsed the need for the Trump-Putin summit, particularly on those strategic issues.
“Outdated Cold War nuclear postures, new cyber dangers and the spread of nuclear knowledge and technology, make it imperative that our leaders work together to prevent a nuclear blunder, with the Helsinki summit being an essential step to restarting nuclear risk reduction efforts,”
they wrote in a July 13 op-ed in The Hill.
“There’s much to be done, but it must begin with the two Presidents creating a climate for dialogue across our governments; one that will provide a stable foundation for managing our differences and addressing common existential threats.”
Moniz and Nunn warn,
“Absent serious attention to crisis management and risk reduction, an accident or miscalculation involving our military forces leading to a major international incident and escalation is likely.”
Therefore, “We must find ways to increase decision time for leaders to respond to what may be a false warning....
“President Trump can use the Helsinki summit to begin to carve out a Russia policy that reduces the unnecessary nuclear dangers we are currently running, while maintaining our values and protecting our allies and interests. The meeting is a chance to reaffirm the declaration from Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought; to extend and preserve mutually beneficial agreements that provide transparency, verification, and stability on nuclear arms; and to launch a dedicated effort to cooperate on areas of common interest, including preventing nuclear terrorism.”
However, they admonish: “But the President can succeed only with support from our allies abroad and Republicans and Democrats at home.”
