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jjohnson@azdem.org, 602-298-4200
NEWS SUMMARY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 19, 2010
In case you missed it:
Kyl makes political sport of national security
Obstructionism is nothing new for Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, but he's managed to take it to new heights: the upper echelons of national security. Kyl is now aiming to block the lame-duck Senate from ratifying the New Start arms control treaty.
This important treaty between the United States and Russia would call for both countries to reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads and would restore verification inspections of each other's arsenals.
Why would Kyl stand in the way of this effort? A Nov. 17 New York Times editorial put it this way:
The treaty is so central to this country’s national security, and the objections from Mr. Kyl — and apparently the whole Republican leadership — are so absurd that the only explanation is their limitless desire to deny President Obama any legislative success.
In other words, Kyl is making political sport of national security issues.
The Times is just one of many news sources calling out Kyl. Here are a couple more examples:
The Hill -- The story notes that even Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, disagrees with Kyl.
"We’re talking about the national security of the United States of America," Lugar said. "This treaty must be ratified, and it must be ratified in this session of Congress. … This is very serious. We are at a point where we are unlikely to have either the treaty or modernization unless we get real.”
Politico -- The op-ed notes that the majority of Republicans are likely to support the treaty if it comes to a vote.
The Republican leadership, however, appears to be stalling -- perhaps to extort as much as possible out of the Obama administration, or maybe just to make the president look ineffective and weak.
These articles also note something that Kyl conveniently does not: The treaty is supported by six former secretaries of State, five former secretaries of Defense, three former national security advisers and seven former commanders of the U.S. Strategic Command. The entire U.S. military leadership also supports the treaty.
What does Kyl know that they don't? Nothing, except for how to play a dangerous game.
