I urge my colleagues, as they consider their position on this treaty, to immerse themselves in the details. For further information on treaty monitoring and the reported activities at the Russian test site, I urge Members to review the materials available in S-407. In closing, Mr. President, I would like to make some general points. First, I believe that, when foreign and national security policies come before the Senate, we must put the Nation's interests first. Second, while arms control agreements may be useful to the extent they advance our national interests, they are not a substitute for sound policy.
Good agreements are an instrument of good policy.
Bad agreements, pursued for agreement's sake, do not serve our Nation's interests. Lastly, some of my colleagues have held out the option of withdrawal from the treaty, should it be ratified yet somehow fail to lead to the Golden Age that proponents envision. Let me be clear. If this treaty is ratified, there will be no turning back. The history of cold war arms control agreements is instructive.