The Wikileaks revelations have been described as the “9/11 of diplomacy”. One not-so-secret revelation, however, is news that the Obama Administration doesn’t hold the transatlantic alliance in particularly high regard. For Obama, America’s European allies are like pawns on a chess board—to be arm twisted into supporting the Democrats political agenda wherever necessary. And nothing is higher on Obama’s agenda right now the New START Treaty.
The latest European voice ‘spontaneously’ calling for ratification of the treaty is Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary general of NATO. Rasmussen states: “As a former member of the Danish Parliament, I know better than to tell U.S. senators what to do.” Then he goes on to tell the Senate exactly what to do—to ratify New START. And his primary reasoning for this support? That New START will lead to a second treaty of greater importance of Europe—namely, on tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.
It is impossible, not to mention ridiculous, to ask U.S. senators to support New START for the purposes of achieving another treaty at some point in the unidentified future which may or may not be important to America’s cousins across the Atlantic. The U.S. Constitution only empowers the Senate to offer its advice on and consent to this particular treaty.
The Senate is right to be concerned about New START. The Russians have indicated that the treaty imposes significant limitations on U.S. ballistic missile defenses—and therefore on NATO’s proposed missile defense plans as well. In a unilateral statement made by the Russian Federation, Moscow stated: “The Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms signed in Prague on April 8, 2010, can operate and be viable only if the United States of America refrains from developing its missile defence capabilities quantitatively or qualitatively.” Although the Administration is refuting this claim, it is refusing to release the negotiating record of the U.S.-Russian deliberations for the Senate to review, making it difficult for Senators to fully asses whether the Treaty is in fact in the U.S. interest and that of its allies or not.
When the new Senate reconstitutes in January there will be plenty of time for the Foreign Relations Committee to reconsider the matter and investigate exactly whether the Treaty genuinely does serve U.S. and allied interests. It is worth waiting these few short weeks for the newly-elected Senate to execute its constitutionally-mandated duty to genuinely offer its advice and consent on such an important issue—and with the full facts before it.
Pingback: Tweets that mention The Foundry: Conservative Policy News. -- Topsy.com
I believe that it is great that the US is trying start another Treaty with yet another country, and I agree that Europe is a country on its uprising and deserves to be a better recognized Alliance with the US. As of January i hope that it is passed by the senate that we are able to start a great new alliance.
Virtually every article Sally McNamara writes is from some alternate universe. She consistently seems to take positions that work against western interests.
Her disrespectful handling of Nato ally Greece, the birthplace of western civilization, perhaps best exemplifies her. In supporting so-called "Macedonians" Sally is effectively accusing America of ethnic cleansing of "ethnic Macedonians" in 1944 (since the state department under Truman and later Eisenhower used to provide Macedonian Greeks the weapons to kill the Bulgarian communist terrorists in Greece who renamed themselves "Macedonians") She apparently doesn't even know America itself used to deny the existence of so-called "ethnic Macedonians".
"This (US) Government considers talk of Macedonian "nation", Macedonian "Fatherland", or Macedonia "national consciousness" to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece." – U.S State Department Foreign Relations Vol. VIII Washington D.C. Circular Airgram – 868.014/26 Dec. 1944 (http://tinyurl.com/nel46d)
My bet is both Truman and Eisenhower would have been ashamed of neo-Americans like Sally betraying not only allies but western values. I used to have great respect for the Heritage foundation but clearly the hiring standards have dropped considerably if someone like Sally is working there.