Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
November 20, 2010

Today, I’d like to speak with you about an issue that is fundamental to America’s national security: the need for the Senate to approve the New START Treaty this year.

This Treaty is rooted in a practice that dates back to（追溯到） Ronald Reagan. The idea is simple – as the two nations with over 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia have a responsibility to work together to reduce our arsenals²（军械库） . And to ensure that our national security is protected, the United States has an interest in tracking Russia’s nuclear arsenal¹ through a verification effort that puts U.S. inspectors³ on the ground. As President Reagan said when he signed a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet⁴ Union in 1987, “Trust, but verify.”

That is precisely⁵ what the New START Treaty does. After nearly a full year of negotiations⁶, we completed an agreement earlier this year that cuts by a third the number of long-range nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles that the United States and Russia can deploy⁷, while ensuring that America retains（保持） a strong nuclear deterrent⁸（核威慑力量） , and can put inspectors back on the ground in Russia.

The Treaty also helped us reset⁹ our relations with Russia, which led to concrete benefits. For instance, Russia has been indispensable（不可缺少的） to our efforts to enforce strong sanctions on Iran, to secure loose nuclear material from terrorists, and to equip our troops in Afghanistan.

All of this will be put to risk if the Senate does not pass the New START Treaty.

Without ratification¹⁰（批准，承认） this year, the United States will have no inspectors on the ground, and no ability to verify Russian nuclear activities. So those who would block this treaty are breaking President Reagan’s rule – they want to trust, but not verify.

Without ratification, we put at risk the coalition¹¹ that we have built to put pressure on Iran, and the transit¹² route through Russia that we use to equip our troops in Afghanistan. And without ratification, we risk undoing¹³ decades of American leadership on nuclear security, and decades of bipartisanship（两党合作） on this issue. Our security and our position in the world are at stake.

Indeed, since the Reagan years, every President has pursued a negotiated, verified, arms reduction treaty. And every time that these treaties have been reviewed by the Senate, they have passed with over 85 votes. Bipartisan support for New START could not be stronger. It has been endorsed¹⁴ by Republicans from the Reagan Administration and both Bush Administrations – including Colin Powell, George Shultz, Jim Baker¹⁵, and Henry Kissinger. And it was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a strong bipartisan vote of 14-4.

Over the last several months, several questions have been asked about New START, and we have answered every single one. Some have asked whether it will limit our missile defense¹⁶ – it will not. Some, including Senator Jon Kyl, have asked that we modernize¹⁷ our nuclear infrastructure¹⁸ for the 21st century – we are doing so, and plan to invest at least $85 billion in that effort over the next ten years – a significant increase from the Bush Administration.

Finally, some make no argument against the Treaty – they just ask for more time. But remember this: it has already been 11 months since we’ve had inspectors in Russia, and every day that goes by without ratification is a day that we lose confidence in our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons. If the Senate doesn’t act this year – after six months, 18 hearings, and nearly a thousand questions answered – it would have to start over from scratch（白手起家） in January.

The choice is clear: a failure to ratify¹⁹ New START would be a dangerous gamble with America’s national security, setting back our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons, as well as our leadership in the world. That is not what the American people sent us to Washington to do.

There is enough gridlock（僵局） , enough bickering²⁰（争吵，争论） . If there is one issue that should unite us – as Republicans and Democrats²¹ – it should be our national security.

Some things are bigger than politics. As Republican Dick Lugar said the other day, “Every Senator has an obligation in the national security interest to take a stand（表态，采取立场） , to do his or her duty.”

Senator Lugar is right. And if the Senate passes this treaty, it will not be an achievement for Democrats or Republicans – it will be a win for America.

Thanks.