Featured Post

Syria helped orchestrate 2006 Motoon riots

Tweet Orchestrated outrage

Read More

Norquist: Time to start talking about saving money by pulling out of Af-Pak theater

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 13-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

0

Why start there?


Grover Norquist says he isn’t calling for a pullout, at least not yet, but that he just wants to start a conversation, according to this report from Foreign Policy.  The cost of fighting in Afghanistan goes over $ 100 billion a year, and the president of Americans for Tax Reform wants conservatives and the center-right to […]

Read this post »

Hot Air » Top Picks

Norquist: Time to start talking about saving money by pulling out of Af-Pak theater

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 13-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

0

Why start there?


Grover Norquist says he isn’t calling for a pullout, at least not yet, but that he just wants to start a conversation, according to this report from Foreign Policy.  The cost of fighting in Afghanistan goes over $ 100 billion a year, and the president of Americans for Tax Reform wants conservatives and the center-right to […]

Read this post »

Hot Air » Top Picks

Clippers’ hot start key in upset – ESPN

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 13-01-2011

Tags: , , ,

0


Los Angeles Times
Clippers' hot start key in upset
ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The first quarter of Wednesday's game against LeBron James and the Miami Heat might very well have been the best 12 minutes of basketball the Los Angeles Clippers have played in years. It was complete with everything a
Clippers halt the red-hot Heat, 111-105Los Angeles Times
Recap: LA Clippers vs. MiamiMiamiHerald.com
Heat beaten on the road by ClippersDeseret News
OCRegister –Rotoworld.com –Bellingham Herald
all 380 news articles »

Sports – Google News

Late Start to 2012 Presidential Race?

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 12-01-2011

Tags: , , , ,

0

Jim Geraghty, Dave Weigel, and Matt Yglesias all note that, by this point in the last presidential cycle, there were already 14 major party candidates who had publicly announced.  There are zero today.

Of course, this is rather skewed.  Barring the wildly unexpected, there will be one significant contender for the Democratic nomination:  President Barack Obama.   Conversely, since 2008 was an open year, both parties had vacancies.

Still, there were 7 Republicans announced by this time in 2007:  Duncan Hunter, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Sam Brownback, Tommy Thompson, Jim Gilmore, and Ron Paul.  The eventual winner, McCain, announced on November 15, 2006.

So, why hasn’t anyone jumped in yet for 2012?

Presumably, the fact that there’s a sitting president gives pause even to Republicans.  Recall that the 1992 Democratic field was rather shallow, with most of the big names deciding not to bother to challenge George H.W. Bush.  Since incumbents almost always win a second term, 2012 is simply less enticing than 2008.

Beyond that, there’s the Sarah Palin factor.

Republicans, it’s frequently said, tend to nominate the candidate whose “turn” it is.  There are two plausible contenders for that title:  Mitt Romney, the candidate who gave McCain the strongest run for his money when it counted (Mike Huckabee ultimately amassed a few more delegates, but only because he ran for months after the race was decided) and Palin, who was McCain’s running mate.

Given Palin’s ability to suck all the oxygen out of the room — she’s far and away the potential Republican candidate most able to attract media attention — other candidates have to be hesitant to commit themselves before gauging her intention.  And, certainly, Palin has no need to rush things, since she already has the name recognition and fundraising ability from the outset.

Several Republicans — Romney, Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Tim Pawlenty most notably — already seem to be running.  But given that money will play an even bigger role this time than ever before, they’re going to have to get serious soon if they’re going to have any shot.




Outside the Beltway

START and the Spirit of Frank Marshall Davis

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 08-01-2011

Tags: , , , ,

0

When the Senate ratified the recent Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) during the lame duck session, the only reason it got the 67 needed votes was because thirteen Republican Senators believed Barack Obama when he assured them that language in the preamble linking the buildup of offensive nuclear weapons with missile defense systems would not inhibit missile defense because, well, it’s just the preamble and not legally binding.

Obama even sent a letter of reassurance to the Senate via Harry Reid. In it, he explained that there would be no restrictions on missile defense development. In hindsight, those 13 Republican Senators should have learned from Bart Stupak putting his faith in an Executive Order guaranteeing no federal funds would go toward abortions, in exchange for the votes of his dirty dozen.

Russia’s Duma almost immediately took issue with the notion that the preamble was not binding and is insisting that the verbiage in the preamble carries just as much weight as the verbiage throughout the rest of the treaty. The Russians are, in effect, making the assertion that the United States has agreed not to take steps to defend itself against nuclear attack – Obama is responsible for this lack of distinction.

Media attention – and conventional wisdom – has deemed this an embarrassing episode for President Obama but is it really? His meaningless Executive Order proved worthless but he got health care passed. He traded minor embarrassment for America’s health care albatross. If his word means nothing, why should he care about it? Besides, didn’t Stupak and his lemmings end up being disgraced more than Obama anyway?

If, in the case of Stupak, it was about a public blemish on the president in exchange for health care, what is it in the case of START? There is a public blemish but what is it in exchange for?

Frank Marshall Davis had access to Barack Obama as a child for several years. He was a member of the Communist Party USA, had a 600-page FBI file and loved Soviet Russia. Odds are good that he communicated at least some of his affinity for the Soviet Union to a young, impressionable Obama. In fact, Davis once wrote a poem entitled “Smash on, victory-eating Read Army.” It reads as follows:

“Show the marveling multitudes
Americans, British, all your allied brothers
How strong you are
How great you are
How your young tree of new unity
Planted twenty-five years ago
Bears today the golden fruit of victory!”

Who does the START treaty embarrass more, Obama or the thirteen Republican Senators who have been duped on a world stage after two years of a president who has quite the track record of duping?

At least in the case of Stupak, it was twelve Democrats. In the case of START, the blemish is on a baker’s dozen in the Republican party. That will dwarf any embarassment Obama may endure.

In fact, he may be trading in minor embarrassment for something bigger…..again.

Ben Barrack is a talk show host on KTEM 1400 in Texas and maintains a website at www.benbarrack.com

Big Peace

God May Have an Excellent Answer to our Financial Mess: Start Over With a Clean Slate

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 06-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , ,

0

Across the globe, we have accumulated mountains of public and private debts. Many of the debts are effectively unsecured since the underlying assets have fallen steeply in value and will unlikely return to inflated (bubble) values. Furthermore, remaining incomes for most of humanity are insufficient to pay off those debts, now or for the foreseeable future, without decimating the lives of billions of people, and ignoring our much greater collective needs.

The reasons underlying this mess are best attributable to our many failings as human beings, such as greed, hubris, narcissism, selfishness, lying, jealousy, and by simply ignoring for too long the Golden Rule of behavior between people. Instead of endlessly arguing about whom to blame, how to extract retribution, and punishing our children under massive and un-payable principle and interest obligations, we might just look to the Torah for some guidance.

Christians and Moslems should regularly refer to the Torah (Old Testament) for some universal guidance since Judaism is the foundation of both global religions. It might also be appropriate to turn to Jews for how to properly interpret those ancient texts that go far beyond just bind adherence to the literal words and instead incorporating over a thousand years of Talmudic tradition. Even non-believers in the 3 Abrahamic faiths may find some parallels in their moral and ethical teachings. But for some major aspects of human life and covering the financial relations between people, parts of the Torah are pretty clear.

There is an excellent article written by Brett Weiss, a Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney back in 2007 and published in Bankruptcy Law Network. http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/2007/09/12/the-sabbatical-year-and-the-forgiveness-of-debts/

At sundown on September 12, 2007, the Jewish new year of 5768 begins. If you’re not Jewish, why does this matter? …5768 is a Shemitah (literally, “release,” but commonly known as the Sabbatical) year. Part of the observance of the Sabbatical year includes the forgiveness of debts.

The Sabbatical year is established in Deuteronomy: “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release. (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). In the Book of Nehemiah, it says, “[A]nd if the peoples of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.” (Nehemiah 10:32).

In general, a Sabbatical Year cancels all debts, whether oral or in writing, even if the writing contains a clause placing a lien on the borrower’s real estate as security for the loan. A learned Rabbi, Rav Kook, described the Sabbatical year this way: “The seventh year serves to rectify the social ills and inequalities that accumulate in society over the years. When poorer segments of society borrow from the wealthy, they feel beholden to the affluent elite. “The debtor is a servant of the lender” [Proverbs 22:7]. This form of subservience can corrupt even honest individuals in their dealings with the rich and powerful. The Sabbatical year comes to correct this situation of inequality and societal rifts, by removing a major source of power of the elite: debts owed to them.” [Emphasis Added}

…this seven year debt forgiveness forms the philosophical underpinning for Chapter 7 in the Bankruptcy Code. Both allow for the forgiveness of debts, and both serve the same societal purpose.

Unfortunately the next Sabbatical year is not until 2014 according to the Jewish Calendar. Fortunately Julius Caesar created the modern calendar, putting it into effect on the 1st of January in 46 B.C. The Catholic Church later established the distinction between BC and AD based upon a best guess estimate for the birth year of Jesus Christ.

Today most everyone on the planet (Christians, Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and non-religious) uses the same calendar today. Thus in 2011, the general Sabbatical principle should be maintained, but a minor matter of timing might be slightly off. However, the Jewish calendar does not correspond to the actual earth’s rotation around the sun (neither does the Moslem calendar) and we should work with what we have. Really, what are a few years among friends and enemies when we’re all on the Financial Titanic?

As soon as possible and on a fixed date that applies around the globe, we need to have a universal agreement to release all debts among all people. After creating an unholy and unsustainable economic and financial mess over the past few decades, we really cannot move on as modern societies, nor can we efficiently operate or grow our local, regional and global economies, if we are burdened forever by our many past human mistakes.

Some among the wealthy and the oligarchy will howl about that they are owed such funds from the rest of humanity “under contracts” but they utterly fail to see their moral and ethical obligations to God and their fellow human beings. Realistically speaking, many of our large “legal fiction” institutions and wealthy individuals hold debts against people who have no ability to repay whatsoever. Our various national governments are merely playing “pretend and extend” by printing money, transferring private debts of politically connected organizations into public debts by purchasing worthless paper, and overall, trying to enforce the unjust and bankrupt past and status quo. It is simply going to end badly in a few years and really destroy many human lives, economies, governments and institutions.

Why can we not make a universal plan to wind down our collective nightmare in an orderly and just fashion – and according to the edicts of God? For many who hold worthless debt, they must understand that after the global release of debts, they will still have their real estate, personal possessions, and most importantly their lives, health, individual skills and knowledge, and their families and friends. These riches of the soul, mind and heart are the true treasures that make life worth living – not the pursuit of ephemeral wealth and abusive power over others.

We must clear the entire slate for humanity in order to start anew, without anger, fear, retribution, greed, malice, and looking towards the past. We also need to establish a host of sane, fair and workable international financial, banking, credit, consumer, and overall economic systems moving forward that would prevent those many frauds, injustices and messes that we have created to date from occurring in the future.

We may face a new set of self-inflicted messes in the future, but when they are beyond human resolution, we can ultimately turn to God’s wise and merciful guidance and instruction and use the Sabbatical year again.

Submitted by Marc Pascal from Phoenix, AZ


The Moderate Voice

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Off To Promising Start On LGBT Rights

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 06-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , ,

0

The Empire State Pride Agenda notes via press release that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is off to a promising start regarding LGBT rights and today mentioned marriage equality in his first State Of The State address. Among Cuomo’s first actions since assuming office are the continuance of former Gov. David Paterson’s executive order protecting state employees from gender identity discrimination. Additionally, Cuomo has created a new cabinet level position, Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights, and appointed an openly gay man to the post.

Joe. My. God.

White House says Russians wrong about missile-defense limitations in START

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 04-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

0

Smart power.


The confusion over the START agreement heated up into an international dispute yesterday as the White House finally responded to Russian declarations that the treaty specifically limits the US on missile defense.  Yesterday, I noted that the chair of the Duma’s International Affairs committee stated last week that Russia considered the preamble, with its language […]

Read this post »

Hot Air » Top Picks

Warriors start fast but fall apart in third quarter against Magic – San Jose Mercury News

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 04-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

0


Boston Globe
Warriors start fast but fall apart in third quarter against Magic
San Jose Mercury News
ORLANDO, Fla. — On one hand, the Warriors could pop their collar for getting up big on a top-tier team such as Orlando. On the other, they could be disappointed for falling apart in the third quarter and blowing a double-digit
Turkoglu leads Magic over Warriors 110-90Washington Post
Recap: Orlando vs. Golden StateMiamiHerald.com
Second-half surge helps Magic rompTampabay.com
Newsday –Rotoworld.com –Howard the Dunk
all 250 news articles »

Sports – Google News

How to Start 2011: George Orwell Explains It All to You

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 03-01-2011

Tags: , , , ,

0

http://news.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/architecturehereandthere/orwell1984.jpg

By Barry Rubin

“The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists.” -Isaac Asimov

On this the first working day of 2011 in the Western world, go read Melanie Phillips in her analysis of what’s going on in the world. While she focuses on the demonization of Israel and the bizarre distortion of Middle East realities in the West, her argument applies across the board to the internal debate in Western democracies today.

In short, as in the title of her book, this can be described as turning things upside down, creating a counter-reality based on emotion over facts and the belief that privileged groups can be said to be always right whatever they do because of past claimed victim status. This new way of looking at the world throws out the window all of the logical, pragmatic, and democratic concepts that have made the West so successful.

I would add that her argument overstates the negative since that’s what she’s trying to explain and given the brevity of her lecture, as well as the fact that she’s experienced the worst of it in the United Kingdom. A lot of people-roughly a minimum of 50 percent in every country-knows that something is seriously wrong with the public debate and government policies. What Phillips does so well is to articulate precisely what’s happening.

Then there is an incredibly brilliant article by Douglas Murray on how the West has dealt with the Islam issue so badly because it has been pushed to deal with it on Islamic, rather than Western, terms. While focused on the Ground Zero mosque/community center project, he ranges much further. It is the best single article on Western internal responses to Islam and Islamism that I’ve ever seen.

To summarize even more briefly, the issue is admirably presented in George Orwell’s novel 1984. His nightmare of the mental (as much as repressive) dictatorship of the future was a place dominated by three slogans:

WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

These are the slogans that, in effect, dominate our world at this moment. What do they mean?

War is peace is the failure to recognize on the part of many (but fewer each day) that this is an era of struggle in which forces within are bashing away with sledgehammers at the foundations of Western civilization and democracy at home.

At the same time, the central issue in much of the world is the struggle of revolutionary Islamists to impose totalitarian dictatorships on dozens of countries and hundreds of millions of people. This includes the notion that those waging war both on the West and on their own people are either friends or easily made to be so by appeasement and flattery.

Freedom is Slavery means that growing government power and regulation, along with the narrowing boundaries of individual freedom, freedom of speech, and other treasured rights, is presented as a positive development that will make life better.

The belief that people cannot be trusted with freedom but must be told what to do for their own good has, camouflaged in many ways, become prevalent. The idea that they are too stupid, greedy, bigoted, and short-sighted has become a powerful belief among Western elites. Ironically, anti-democratic actions have been rationalized in the name of the left, which has historically supposed to have been the champion of the common people but has now become a tool to enhance elite privileges through statism.

Ignorance is Strength is in practice the view of all too many of the very institutions supposed to enlighten the people and safeguard democracy but have become propaganda organs to spread misinformation. It tells people to ignore the evidence of their experience, dispense with the history and traditions of their societies, and to throw away their common sense.

The personnel in large elements of the schools, mass media, culture, and publishing have either consciously decided to use these vehicles to spread their ideology or choose to censor information so that people will only be told what-in the eyes of the gatekeepers-will elevate their consciousness. The goal here is to use the media to fundamentally transform-the split infinitive isn’t mine-Western societies through what might be called voter-assisted suicide.

As noted above, these problems are far from universal, yet they are in Europe and North America more widespread today than at any time in living memory.

Your task in 2011 is to try to find ways and act on them that will roll back this plague; to create a wider liberated zone for security, freedom, and knowledge at the end of this year than exists today. Please go to work.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (Palgrave Macmillan), Conflict and Insurgency in the Contemporary Middle Eastand editor of the (seventh edition) (Viking-Penguin), The Israel-Arab Reader the paperback edition of The Truth About Syria(Palgrave-Macmillan), A Chronological History of Terrorism (Sharpe), and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley).  




YID With LID

White House Contradicts Russian Duma Official on Linkage Between Missile Defense and START

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 03-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

0

An official of the lower house of the Duma says that as it ratifies the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, START, the Russian parliament will reaffirm that the treaty limits U.S. plans for missile defense, contrary to the stated position…



Email this Article
Add to Twitter
Add to Facebook
Add to digg
Add to Reddit
Add to StumbleUpon




Political Punch

How to Start 2011: Melanie Phillips, George Orwell-and, I Hope, Myself-Explain It All to You

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 03-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , , ,

0

This post was written by Barry Rubin and is reposted here with permission.

By Barry Rubin

“The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists.” -Isaac Asimov

On this the first working day of 2011 in the Western world, go read Melanie Phillips in her analysis of what’s going on in the world. While she focuses on the demonization of Israel and the bizarre distortion of Middle East realities in the West, her argument applies across the board to the internal debate in Western democracies today.

In short, as in the title of her book, this can be described as turning things upside down, creating a counter-reality based on emotion over facts and the belief that privileged groups can be said to be always right whatever they do because of past claimed victim status. This new way of looking at the world throws out the window all of the logical, pragmatic, and democratic concepts that have made the West so successful.

I would add that her argument overstates the negative since that’s what she’s trying to explain and given the brevity of her lecture, as well as the fact that she’s experienced the worst of it in the United Kingdom. A lot of people-roughly a minimum of 50 percent in every country-knows that something is seriously wrong with the public debate and government policies. What Phillips does so well is to articulate precisely what’s happening.

To summarize even more briefly, the issue is admirably presented in George Orwell’s novel 1984. His nightmare of the mental (as much as repressive) dictatorship of the future was a place dominated by three slogans:

WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

These are the slogans that, in effect, dominate our world at this moment. What do they mean?

War is peace is the failure to recognize on the part of many (but fewer each day) that this is an era of struggle in which forces within are bashing away with sledgehammers at the foundations of Western civilization and democracy at home.

At the same time, the central issue in much of the world is the struggle of revolutionary Islamists to impose totalitarian dictatorships on dozens of countries and hundreds of millions of people. This includes the notion that those waging war both on the West and on their own people are either friends or easily made to be so by appeasement and flattery.

Freedom is Slavery means that growing government power and regulation, along with the narrowing boundaries of individual freedom, freedom of speech, and other treasured rights, is presented as a positive development that will make life better.

The belief that people cannot be trusted with freedom but must be told what to do for their own good has, camouflaged in many ways, become prevalent. The idea that they are too stupid, greedy, bigoted, and short-sighted has become a powerful belief among Western elites. Ironically, anti-democratic actions have been rationalized in the name of the left, which has historically supposed to have been the champion of the common people but has now become a tool to enhance elite privileges through statism.

Ignorance is Strength is in practice the view of all too many of the very institutions supposed to enlighten the people and safeguard democracy but have become propaganda organs to spread misinformation. It tells people to ignore the evidence of their experience, dispense with the history and traditions of their societies, and to throw away their common sense.

The personnel in large elements of the schools, mass media, culture, and publishing have either consciously decided to use these vehicles to spread their ideology or choose to censor information so that people will only be told what-in the eyes of the gatekeepers-will elevate their consciousness. The goal here is to use the media to fundamentally transform-the split infinitive isn’t mine-Western societies through what might be called voter-assisted suicide.

As noted above, these problems are far from universal, yet they are in Europe and North America more widespread today than at any time in living memory.

Your task in 2011 is to try to find ways and act on them that will roll back this plague; to create a wider liberated zone for security, freedom, and knowledge at the end of this year than exists today. Please go to work.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). You can read more of Barry Rubin’s posts at Rubin Reports.

Technorati Tag: .


Daled Amos

Russian Duma to link missile defense to START limitations

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 03-01-2011

Tags: , , , , , ,

0

Told you so.


The Russian Duma delivered two embarrassing blows to the Obama administration over the holidays on the START treaty, one of which may end up scotching the deal altogether.  First, the Russian legislature refused to do what Barack Obama insisted of the US Senate, which was a quick ratification.  More importantly, however, the Duma will do […]

Read this post »

Hot Air » Top Picks

NHL Announces New 8 p.m. Start Time for 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic – NHL.com

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 31-12-2010

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

0


CBC.ca
NHL Announces New 8 p.m. Start Time for 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic
NHL.com
The National Hockey League announced today the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will change the original 1 pm (ET) start time on New Year's Day to 8 pm (ET). The decision was based on the latest meteorological reports, which have advised an
Winter Classic turns into overnight success for leagueReuters
NHL changes Winter Classic start time to 8 pm ET SaturdaySportingNews.com
NHL Winter Classic Could Be Moved to Saturday NightFanHouse
Washington Post –FanHouse –SB Nation
all 1,426 news articles »

Sports – Google News

Russian Duma’s Impending Action on New START Could Spell Trouble for the Treaty

Posted by admin | Posted in The Capitol | Posted on 30-12-2010

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

0

It now appears likely that the Russian Duma will attach an understanding to the new strategic nuclear arms control treaty with the U.S., known as New START, that specifically rejects the U.S. Senate’s understanding that Russia has no grounds for using New START to impose general limits on U.S. missile defense options. The Duma is scheduled to continue consideration of the treaty next month.

Such an action by the Duma would confirm the suspicions of a number of Senators, led by John McCain (R–AZ), that the Russian government would point to language in New START’s preamble as a means of limiting U.S. missile defense options. This language re-establishes the “link” between strategic offensive arms and missile defenses that was broken by President George W. Bush in 2002, when the U.S. withdrew from the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which imposed severe restrictions on the U.S. missile defense program. Accordingly, McCain offered an amendment to New START in the Senate to delete this language in the preamble. The amendment was defeated on the basis that the language in the preamble is not legally binding.

As a weaker alternative to the McCain amendment, Senators McCain, Bob Corker (R–TN), and Joe Lieberman (I–CT) attached an understanding on December 22 that specifically rejects the Russian claim that the language in the preamble is legally binding. Apparently, the understanding the Duma will consider will clearly and unequivocally reject the understanding attached by the Senate.

The Heritage Foundation has expressed concerns about the negative impact New START’s provision in the preamble could have on the U.S. missile defense program and pointed out during Senate consideration of the treaty that the Senate had the option to strike this language. The Senate rejected this option and chose to adopt the understanding.

An explicit action by the Duma to reject the Senate understanding raises two fundamental questions, one of which could be very explosive. The first is whether the two diametrically opposed understandings will bar the exchange of the instruments of ratification and entry into force of New START. The Obama Administration is legally bound to include the Senate understanding in the U.S. instrument. It cannot simply walk away from it. While the Administration could try to ignore the understanding in the Russian instrument of ratification, this runs the risk of the U.S. being charged by Russia with material breach of New START if it undertakes steps to improve U.S. missile defense capabilities. In reality, the language of the two understandings will reveal that there is no agreement between the parties on an issue that is essential to the treaty. The honest thing to do would be for both parties to acknowledge this and not exchange the instruments of ratification.

The second and more explosive issue is what would happen if the Russians reveal relevant portions of the treaty negotiating record that show that U.S. negotiators pledged to limit the U.S. missile defense program in accordance with the logic of the language in the preamble. It is all but certain that the understanding attached by the Senate contradicts such a pledge, if it was provided. Accordingly, such a revelation by Russia would constitute compelling evidence that the Obama Administration misled the Senate. Compounding the problem for the Administration will be the fact that it withheld the negotiating record from the Senate, despite demands from some Senators. The Heritage Foundation on took the position that access to the treaty negotiating record should have been provided to the Senate.

In short, the impending action by the Russian Duma may well raise fundamental questions about the viability of New START. These include whether there is no proper agreement between the parties on the issue of missile defense and whether the basis for the Senate granting consent to ratification does not correspond to the requirements of the treaty.

The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.