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The Ghosts of New START Past, Present, and Future December 22nd, 2010

Celebrate! Today the Senate voted to ratify the New START agreement, which will re-establish mutual, on-the-ground verification of American and Russian nuclear arsenals, and cut the deployed strategic weapons on each side by about 1/3.

This is one step in the right direction for nuclear security in our day—but it is a huge victory for American Christians, who overwhelmingly and vocally supported the treaty. And make no mistake: your work mattered. So, for standing with us and putting up with innumerable New START emails, Facebook updates, and tweets (oh, the tweets!):

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now that the votes are cast, we can reflect on what it all means. So, in the spirit of Dickens (cue Marley’s chains) here’s my brief meditations on the ghosts of New START past, present, and future.

The past
The campaign to ratify New START revealed two things—one good, one bad. First, New START proved that the work and witness of the Two Futures Project is both vital and unique. Treaty advocates at the highest levels cited 2FP often as making a critical contribution to the groundswell of support for New START. I am proud of our team and our work: from the on-the-ground voter education efforts in Tennessee and other key states, to our convening an unprecedented pro-ratification press call with Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Bishop Howard Hubbard of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Second, our national public debate about nuclear weapons is profoundly flawed. This conservative treaty, with the unanimous support of the military and the bipartisan security establishment, should have been a slam dunk. But despite this support, a tiny, ideologically driven fringe was able to marshal a substantial campaign against New START by simply and brazenly repeating blatant untruths in public, until they started to sound like facts. And all this over an agreement that still leaves us with thousands of strategic nuclear weapons, doing little to challenge obsolete, Cold War modes of thinking.

The present
New START has exposed the astounding lack of moral seriousness in our public debate about nuclear security. You simply don’t play politics with these weapons if you really apprehend the threat they pose—and from the abundant posturing, pontificating, and political quid pro quos surrounding New START, it became clear that many in government see nuclear security as just one more facet in the endless power game that has consumed Washington politics. Americans of goodwill, regardless of party, should be deeply concerned by this state of affairs.

Fortunately, 2FP closes this year as a mature movement that can help address this malaise. 2011 won’t have any of the big-ticket nuclear policy items of the past year, which gives us the freedom to double down on what we do best: spreading a Christ-centered, biblically grounded moral and cultural mandate to eliminate these weapons of indiscriminate death and destruction. Stay tuned in the new year for our roll-out of several exciting new programs.

The future
Our organization’s name describes the stark choice that we believe we face: a world without nuclear weapons, or a world devastated by them. But from an eternal perspective, of course, there is but one future, authored and anchored by the Triune God, and foretold in scripture’s glorious prophecy of creation restored in a new heavens and a new earth. This recognition does not make us apathetic to the present: the threat of human sinfulness manifesting in nuclear destruction is all too real, but not at all a given. We are stewards of history in our time. But this indispensable focus on the eternal aligns our work and our activism as an expression of fidelity to God Most High.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth—the Lord, Messiah of Israel, Son of God, Word made Flesh, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel—it is therefore fitting to cast away anxiety about what will come. So attend to the breath that is in your lungs—for none of us is guaranteed another—and sing praise the Lord who died for our sins, and whose resurrection throws open the gates to eternal life for all the faithful of God.

O Holy Night, indeed:

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

From all of us at 2FP, wishing you and yours a season filled with grace and peace and love.

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Posted in Nuclear Policy, Take Action, Theology |

It’s Time to Ratify. November 17th, 2010

Over the past several months, you’ve heard us talk a lot about the New Strategic Arms Treaty (START) — how it will make us safer now and take an important step in the right direction, toward a future free from nuclear weapons.

But earlier this week, Senator Jon Kyl stalled the vote. For reasons that remain strangely elusive and vague, a handful of senators are dragging their feet on a treaty that has the unanimous support of our military leadership, the judgment of our national security establishment, and strong public support. If this obstructionism wins out and our leaders don’t vote in the next 6 weeks, the treaty will return to committee next year, erasing the progress made in the last 7 months. As a result, New START may not be ratified.

The treaty is now at a make or break point, and there are serious consequences for inaction. Failing to ratify the treaty will undermine U.S. leadership on nonproliferation, leave us without “boots on the ground” inspectors for the Russian arsenal, jeopardize future arms control agreements, and hinder international cooperation on common threats, such as the containment of Iran’s nuclear program—not to mention the failure to reduce Cold War-sized nuclear arsenals by about one-third.

Nuclear weapons demand a level of seriousness that rises above partisanship. Christians should respond with an adequate level of moral gravity: if we don’t have the courage and responsibility to speak truth in this climate of fear, foolishness, and misinformation, who will?

Please, take five minutes and call your Senators and tell them you support the ratification of the New START treaty in 2010.

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Posted in Nuclear Policy, Take Action |

On to the Senate floor with Bipartisan Support! September 16th, 2010

Good news — Earlier today, in bipartisan fashion, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve the New START treaty, sending it to the Senate floor where it needs 67 votes for ratification. But it’s not time to celebrate yet! Clearing committee is a big step in the right direction, but the tight Senate schedule means that unless Senators from both parties publicly call for an up-or-down vote on this treaty, it may not be ratified this year.

With strong bipartisan support, the time to ratify the New START treaty is now:

  • The treaty makes us safer — it will reduce the number of deployed nuclear weapons in U.S. and Russian arsenals.
  • The treaty allows U.S. inspectors to monitor Russian nukes. By the time the committee voted today, it’s been 285 days without on-site inspections of Russian nuclear weapons and facilities.
  • The treaty has the overwhelming support of the military and national security experts of both parties, including current and former commanders of our nuclear weapons, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, and many others.
  • The treaty is a symbol of peace and the common good, and has the support of religious groups from across the spectrum, including the World Evangelical Alliance, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the National Council of Churches.

Please take time today to call your Senators and let them know the New START treaty is out of committee with Republican and Democratic support, and they need to join this bipartisan consensus. It will take only five minutes — simply visit the Two Futures Project START Action Center, find the Office Number for your Senators, and ask them to publically call for a vote to ratify the New START treaty this year.

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Posted in Nuclear Policy, Take Action |

Week of Action on START May 17th, 2010

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to weigh in on a concrete step that will improve nuclear security — these chances sometimes come around just once per year.

So take this opportunity to tell your elected officials that you won’t tolerate partisan nonsense when it comes to a treaty that’s good for national security and sound moral choice.

We need you to call the offices of your U.S. Senators and express your strong support of the treaty. It will take only five minutes — simply visit the Two Futures Project START Action Center, find the Office Number for your Senators and use our sample “call script.”

Last week, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was officially submitted to the U.S. Senate, with hearings expected to begin later this week. In order for this treaty to become law, the Senate must ratify it by a two-thirds majority — needing 67 votes.

There is no reason for this treaty not to receive unanimous support from the Senate based on its merits. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “the treaty has the unanimous support of America’s military leadership.” Similarly, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen said during a briefing on the announcement of the START treaty, “I am as confident in its success as I am in its safeguards.”

However, the greatest enemy to its success in the Senate is partisan distraction, and the possibility that a handful of outspoken ideologues can derail or weaken the treaty. This would not only damage strategic relations between the US and Russia, it would be a huge step in the wrong direction toward nuclear insecurity.

Take action today for the peace and security of tomorrow.

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Posted in Nuclear Policy, Take Action |

Forging a New Start March 31st, 2010

After a year of negotiations, the U.S. and Russia recently announced they’ve completed a new agreement to reduce the excessive size of our nuclear arsenals in a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The new treaty will be signed April 8 in Prague and its objectives are fairly straightforward: it reduces deployed strategic weapons (i.e., missiles and bombs) from 2,200 to 1,550; it cuts delivery vehicles (bombers, silos, subs) to 800; and it continues the Reagan legacy of “trust but verify” with Moscow.

Strategic nuclear weapons? Missiles? Prague? These aren’t words with a whole lot of relevance in today’s activist crowd—they conjure up icons like Gorbachev, Dr. Strangelove, or maybe Matthew Broderick in War Games. Let’s face it: this is not cutting-edge stuff. Our parents might remember classroom “duck and cover” drills (historical note: plywood desks offer minimal protection against thousands of tons of TNT), the fear of total annihilation, and the threat that one incident or accident could usher in the destruction of every nation. But this was a conflict that had two superpowers pointing thousands of missiles at each other.

What’s really unfortunate is that we may actually have been safer then.

At the height of the Cold War, there were more than 70,000 nuclear weapons in existence, enough to destroy the world many times over. This number has been dramatically reduced by treaties just like the one we’re about to sign. But there are approximately 20,000 nuclear weapons still in existence, 95 percent of which are in the U.S. and Russia.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger observed of nuclear weapons that “our age has stolen fire from the gods; can we confine it to peaceful purposes before it consumes us?” In our post-Cold War, post-9/11 world, this “fire” is now harder to contain and capable of quickly spreading. For this reason, the United States and Russia are recognizing that reductions to our own arsenals are necessary if we want to have any moral authority in curbing breakout in countries like Iran.

Yet the quiet acknowledgment coming out of the negotiating rooms is that this treaty is really pretty modest. Because it wouldn’t take the thousands of remaining nuclear weapons to ruin the world for which we are called by God to care. Just one bomb would cause tens of thousands of deaths, massive environmental damage and financial suffering worldwide. (Check out the video on the front page of TwoFuturesProject.org for a visual of what this looks like.)

So the new START isn’t a silver bullet for our nuclear problem—but it’s not insignificant, either. The question now is whether or not the Senate will ratify it. There are some positive signs, like Richard Lugar—a Republican Senator and important voice on foreign policy—saying he looks forward to working “quickly to achieve ratification of the treaty.”

Unfortunately, Congress has recently proven itself to be not only inefficient, but also incapable at times of passing meaningful legislation due to a venomous political climate, and crippling partisan gridlock. Senate rules require 67 votes to ratify a treaty, so ratification of START must be bipartisan. The question is whether a handful of outspoken ideologues in the U.S. Senate can derail the treaty. Inaction would not only damage strategic relations between the United States and Russia, it would be a huge step in the wrong direction toward nuclear insecurity.

A lot of people in our generation are suspicious of anything political, and there aren’t many things more political than ratification of a nuclear treaty in the U.S. Senate. But nuclear weapons are not an issue we can afford to ignore. In fact, inaction is itself a choice; it’s like waking up to find out that your house is on fire, and deciding to go back to bed. We believe God calls us to use our “talents” in the service of His kingdom—and whether we like it or not, having a say in the American political process is one of the most significant gifts for which God will hold us responsible. So let’s make sure that in this, as in all things, we’ll act in a way that will be met with the judgment, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

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This post was published on RELEVANT Magazine’s “Reject Apathy” blog in March of 2010.

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Posted in Nuclear Policy |

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