The goal of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, also known as CTBT, is to ban all nuclear testing. However, I have not been convinced this treaty is in the best interests of the United States. From the lack of clear definitions to the incorrectness of underlying assumptions to the verification and enforcement provisions, I believe the treaty is fundamentally flawed. And, these flaws cannot be changed by Senate amendment. I want to take a few moments to discuss my concerns regarding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Verification is critical to the enforcement of any treaty.
Without verification, enforcement cannot truthfully occur. This means there should be no nuclear yield released when an explosion occurs. There is agreement among the Administration, the intelligence community and the Senate that a zero-yield threshold cannot be verified. The issue of zero yield takes on another level of importance when it becomes clear that zero-yield is not the standard defined in the Treaty. It is the standard interpreted by President Clinton.