3. US Nuclear Reductions
US military leaders told the Senate Armed Forces Committee that they are uncomfortable with reducing strategic nuclear weapons below the START III limit approved in 1997 by Clinton and then-president Boris Yeltsin in Helsinki. "If we wanted to depart from that ... then we need to pause and do the necessary analysis" to assure that US security and deterrence would still be just as strong or stronger, said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Henry R. Shelton.
"Pentagon Rejects Russia's Nuke Idea"
Texas Governor George W. Bush proposed slashing the US nuclear arsenal even if Russia does not agree to identical cuts, but he added that he would depend on military planners to say how low it is safe to cut. Bush also said that he would build a missile defense system and hinted that it would be far more expansive than the system proposed by the Clinton administration. The governor was accompanied by several former Nixon, Reagan, and Bush administration officials. The transcript of their presentations and questions and answers are provided by CNN.
"Bush proposes unilateral cuts in nuclear arms"
"Bush Says U.S. Should Reduce Nuclear Arms"
"Prepared Speech"
"Press release and prepared speech (text-only version)"
"Governor Bush Proposes New Leadership On National Security"
"Transcript of Bush National Security Press Conference"
While analysts welcomed the pledge to cut, they were worried about the risks in Mr. Bush's seemingly open-ended view of missile defenses, warning that it could undercut the benefits of his proposal to reduce nuclear weapons.
"Bush's Missile Defenses Could Limit Warhead Cuts, Experts Warn"
US Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said that the US Defense Department can afford to reduce the US nuclear arsenal significantly further, as Texas Governor George W. Bush has proposed. In an interview earlier on NBC's "Meet the Press," Mr. Cohen had said he did not believe the United States should go below 2,000 nuclear warheads "at this time."
"Cohen Says U.S. Can Cut Nukes As Bush Proposes"