Isakson to support New START treaty

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today said he will support a procedural vote to end debate on the strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia known as New START and will vote to ratify the treaty.

“Only through setting the example, without giving in or capitulating a thing, do we give hope to the future that my grandchildren and yours can live in a world that will not be free of nukes but will be secure; that loose nukes are not in the hands of bad people; and we have transparency and accountability while still having the capability to secure ourselves both offensively and defensively to ensure the security of the people of the United States of America,” Isakson said in a statement.

Isakson said he supports the New START treaty because it does not hinder the ability of the United States to move forward with a robust missile defense system.

“From 1991 to 2009, the United States had transparency. It had verification. It had cooperative communication back and forth between the two countries that controlled 90 percent of the nuclear weapons in the world,” Isakson said.

“Verification is better than no verification at all; that inspections and transparency are what prohibit things like what happened on 9/11 from ever happening again, and that you can never expect multilateral negotiations with other countries that have some degree of nuclear power if the two greatest powers refuse to sit down and negotiate and extend the understanding they have had since 1991.”