It would begin negotiating a new round of deep nuclear arms cuts with Moscow. In tandem, it would seek Russian agreement to amend the 1972 ABM treaty to make room for a limited national missile defense. It would also seek quick Senate approval of supplementary language that would lock in the last round of cuts, which were negotiated by Mr. Bush but have yet to be made. They include a critically important agreement by Russia to eliminate all of its land-based multiwarhead missiles, the heart of its offensive nuclear strike force. Even though the prospect of nuclear war between the United States and Russia has all but vanished since the end of the cold war, each nation retains thousands of nuclear weapons.
None pose a greater potential threat to America than Moscow's hydra-headed missiles.
Each carries from 6 to 10 nuclear warheads, every one many times as powerful as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Because each warhead is separately targeted, and protected by sophisticated decoys, they are virtually impossible to defend against. The arms reduction treaty ratified by Russia's parliament earlier this month would eliminate approximately 3,000 such Russian warheads. The United States would have to retire 1,500 warheads now housed in clusters on 550 land-based missiles. It makes no sense to block a deal that is so clearly in America's interest.