Washington, D.C. – As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee convenes its ninth and tenth hearings today on the New START Treaty, Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) lauded a statement released by thirty former high-ranking national security leaders in support of the treaty. This statement, issued by the Partnership for a Secure America, includes a bipartisan group of ten former senators, four secretaries of state, four secretaries of defense, and three national security advisors, as well as the chair and vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission.
“This morning’s meeting between President Obama and President Medvedev is another step that will serve to strengthen ties between our two nations. Ratifying the New START Treaty is vitally important to this strategic partnership and to bolstering the global coalition against nuclear proliferation. Just today, a group of distinguished national security professionals, including former cabinet members and senators, voiced their unequivocal support for the treaty. Their statement reaffirms the stance of experts from across the political spectrum who have testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in recent weeks. These collective voices have drawn the same conclusion: the New START Treaty must be ratified because it makes America safer,” said Kerry.
Attached please find commentary from current and former administration officials who have testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the New START Treaty.
To view the Partnership for a Secure America statement, visit: http://psaonline.org/downloads/START.pdf
Following is the list of leaders who support the New START Treaty:
Madeleine Albright Secretary of State 1997-2001
Howard Baker US Senator (R-TN) 1967-85
Samuel Berger National Security Advisor 1997-2001
Linton Brooks Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, 2002-07
Harold Brown Secretary of Defense 1977-81
Frank Carlucci Secretary of Defense 1987-89
Warren Christopher Secretary of State 1993-97
William Cohen Secretary of Defense 1997-2001
John C. Danforth US Senator (R-MO) 1977-95
Kenneth M. Duberstein White House Chief of Staff 1988-89
Chuck Hagel US Senator (R-NE) 1997-2009
Lee Hamilton US Congressman (D-IN) 1965-99; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Gary Hart US Senator (D-CO) 1975-87
Rita E. Hauser Chair, International Peace Institute
Carla Hills US Trade Representative 1989-93
Nancy Kassebaum-Baker US Senator (R-KS) 1978-97
Thomas Kean Governor (R-NJ) 1982-90; 9/11 Commission Chair
Richard Leone President, The Century Foundation
Donald McHenry US Ambassador to the UN 1979-81
Sam Nunn US Senator (D-GA) 1972-96
William Perry Secretary of Defense 1994-97
Thomas Pickering Under Secretary of State 1997-2000
Colin L. Powell Secretary of State 2001- 05
Warren Rudman US Senator (R-NH) 1980-92; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Alan Simpson US Senator (R-WY) 1979-97
George Shultz Secretary of State 1982-89
Theodore Sorensen White House Special Counsel 1961-63
John Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State 1985-88
Timothy E. Wirth US Senator (D-CO) 1987-93
Frank Wisner Under Secretary of State 1992-93
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