[See here for criticism of Romney's "aggressively chuckleheaded," "dumb" attack on the treaty - though of course AGT had the first word on this one]
Kommersant
July 7, 2010
PROOF BY OPPOSITION (translation courtesy of JRL)
CRITICISM OF START TREATY MIGHT FACILITATE ITS RATIFICATION
Author: Vladimir Soloviov
The Duma began preparations for START ratification. The same process is under way in the United States. In fact, the American legislators are making even better progress with ratification procedures than the Duma. Critics of the Russian-American treaty are having a field day, condemning the document at the earliest opportunity. Strange as it might seem, but their activeness may actually facilitate ratification. Arguments of START enemies in both countries successfully neutralize one another so that neither signatory feels to be left behind in the disarmament race.
The first START parliamentary hearing in Moscow reactivated ferocious criticism of the document. Mitt Romney, ex-governor of Massachusetts and Republican candidate for U.S. president in 2008, is the leading force behind the opposition to the document in the United States. The day the Duma launched debates over START in Moscow, The Washington Post featured a piece by Romney titled "Obama's Worst Foreign Policy Mistake".
Romney does not mince his words, condemning the treaty Barack Obama regards as his best accomplishment so far. What particularly disturbs Romney is that the document interferes with development of the American ballistic missile defense system, a shield from "nuclear-proliferating rogue states" like Iran and North Korea. He said that America all but had to go to Russia for the permission to expand its ballistic missile defense framework. Besides, the politician announced that Moscow stood to gain much more than Washington from the new START treaty. (The document does not apply to Russian mobile ICBMs and launchers, nor does it ban their launch from bombers.)
As a matter of fact, weak points of the START treaty listed by Romney are constantly elaborated on by all other enemies of the document. They appear to be particularly enraged by acknowledgement of a connection between offensive weapons and ballistic missile defense capacity which is what the Kremlin takes pride in.
Russian enemies of the treaty with America went public yesterday. Leonid Kalashnikov, Assistant Chairman of the Duma's Committee for International Affairs (CPRF faction), condemned the treaty for the failure to impose restrictions on American sea-launched long-range guided missiles.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov contributed to the criticism too and made a speech explaining to critics cross the ocean what about the START treaty placed Russia at such a disadvantage. Ryabkov admitted all of a sudden that "... Moscow has never intended to use this treaty to restrict development of the American ballistic missile defense framework, global framework included." "The treaty includes no such restrictions," said the senior diplomat who had recently extolled the document in question for the connection between offensive and defensive weapons.
Diplomatic sources attributed so dramatic a change to "the game being played with the United States, one aiming to neutralize enemies of the ratification." "We watch and listen to what they are saying on the subject, right? And so do they. There is an element of a game in all of that," said a source, a functionary who had accompanied President Dmitry Medvedev to the United States last month and participated in START ratification consultations there.
In other words, the Duma permits START enemies to speak up in the hope that they will be heard across the ocean.
The American Senate in the meantime is somewhat ahead of the Duma in Moscow in terms of ratification procedures. "Yes, we know that they are making better progress," said Ryabkov. "We are trying to catch up and synchronize the two processes. The sooner this phase is over, the better. It will strengthen positive trends in our relations."
Mikhail Margelov, Federation Council's Committee for International Affairs Chairman who is constantly in touch with the American colleagues, said that the document compiling positions of three senatorial committees was going to appear in the near future.
The Kremlin is fairly optimistic too. "Appearance of our president before the American Senate was a success. Both Republicans and Democrats demonstrated willingness to advance the bilateral relations," said Medvedev's Press Secretary Natalia Timakova.
Specialists nevertheless comment that the arrangement of forces within the U.S. Senate might generate problems yet. After all, the American legislature is not even nearly as faithful to the White House as the Duma is to the Kremlin.
