This treaty must not fall victim to politics. The consequences of its defeat will be felt from Moscow to New Delhi to Beijing to Baghdad. And this body, the greatest deliberative body in the world, would be sending the message that we did not want to spend more time on one of the most important issues facing the world today. We do live in dangerous times, Mr. President. Weapons capable of mass destruction have replaced more conventional weapons in our world.
New threats continue to emerge.
But we have the power to stem the tide of nuclear proliferation. Perhaps we cannot stop it completely. But we can make sure that the nuclear arms race is stopped in its tracks and we can make it extremely difficult for those with nuclear aspirations to develop a weapon in which they can have high confidence. And we should do everything in our power to make the world safer for future generations. And if that includes delaying the vote on this treaty, then we should swallow our political pride and do that.