not all who wander are lost

not all who wander are lost

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

New START treaty

Which two countries have the largest nuclear arsenals in the world?
US and Russia

Which treaty would reduce these levels by a third and re-instate an arms verification practice that was put in place by President George H.W. Bush and expired last year? (i.e. We check them out, they check us out, to make sure we're keeping our promises)
The New START treaty

The Senate is soon voting on whether or not to participate in this treaty. The top Republican in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Jon Kyl of Arizona has stated that he's not planning to vote for it creating a domino effect of other Republicans who had indicated support and are now changing their minds.

This treaty, while operationally important, is also symbolically important. It is an olive branch of sorts. That we are voting on whether to extend it is international news. That Republicans might block it is also international news. Democracy, that double-edged sword that both saves and destroys, thus keeping us from any extreme, is at work. While I wouldn't have it any other way, sometimes democracy feels less like balance and more like impotence.

A girl can dream, and this week I'm dreaming for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to lay party, ego, and money aside, and vote with Peace as their inspiration and intention. Idealistic? Absolutely. Naive? Absolutely not. Peace is my intention. Peace is a decision I make, and daily, in large and small ways. It is my expectation that our leaders make the same decision, and daily.

3 comments:

Doug said...

Sara, thanks for noting that GHW Bush, a conservative, signed the original treaty. This treaty is way beyond symbolic. It's way beyond the Caucasus, the Sino-Soviet border, the Bering Strait. It's about the growing threat of China. Not just military threat, but the economic threat that insidiously sucks the strength out of the western world, not to mention the USA.

Anonymous said...

Peace is a decision, peace is a choice that we all make every day, every minute in all of our interactions. If we can be responsible for our own choices, decisions, then we can have expectations that our country can do the same. Mom

pusing said...

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