A ban will help the U.S. FOR two years Senate Republicans did not feel a need to debate the nuclear test ban treaty President Bill Clinton has signed and placed in their hands. Now Majority Leader Trent Lott's threats to hustle through a vote on ratification have forced Mr. Clinton to beg the Senate to postpone consideration of the treaty. Although further delaying ratification will have a negative effect on national security, it cannot compare to rejecting the treaty outright. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty expands the ban on atmospheric nuclear tests to underground testing, instituting a total ban on all nuclear explosions. The agreement is an important part of the historically bipartisan movement against nuclear proliferation.
Nations have two main reasons to conduct underground nuclear tests.
And the first is to threaten their neighbors and let the world know they have nuclear capabilities. The second is to improve or maintain their technology. The current chairman and four former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff say our nation has no need for explosive tests to maintain or improve our arsenal, even though the last U.S. test took place in 1992. Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen, a Republican, also backs the treaty, stressing that it costs the United States nothing. In dragging their feet, senators already have hamstrung U.S. foreign policy.