Although the United States no longer is so dependent upon nuclear weapons as we were during the Cold War, nuclear weapons are going to continue to be an essential element of our national defense strategy for the foreseeable future. The Senate has a choice, I think, of monumental consequence. If the Senate rejects this treaty, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is more likely. And if more nuclear weapons are developed by more nations, it may well force the United States to review our own deterrent requirements and, indeed, perhaps even reverse the policy of reducing nuclear weapons. Beware, I say.
Time is plenty short.
Do not let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late. Well, at this stage, I believe the best way to avoid allowing events to drift along is for the Senate to support the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Einstein once observed that brilliant scientists are always going to be able to make more weapons that are bigger, more complex and more violent. Ladies and gentlemen, the 1964 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for Physics, Dr. Charles Townes.