In the theme of Tis the Season, how could we overlook that old favorite "Strategic Missile Force Day"! Many good times, pictured here, had by all in celebration of our favorite deterrents.
Unfortunately, this cheery scene is a bit overshadowed by the approaching expiration of START I in December 2009, which SORT (aka the Moscow Treaty) conveniently depends on for all of its verification and enforcement mechanisms because our fearless leaders wanted to simplify things. As a result, unless U.S.-Russian discussions become more productive there will be no more limitations on numbers of deployed operational nuclear warheads. This renegotiation could on the one hand be a starting off point for renewed cooperation between the U.S. and Russian governments under the new Obama administration. However, on the other hand, the down spiral of U.S.-Russian relations particularly since 2005, but also well before that, may not bode well.
In other words, let's hope there are no fireworks in this celebration in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment