By John Krzyzaniak, January 22, 2020
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands in 2018. Photo credit: White House.
Memo to President Donald Trump:
You have the historic opportunity to make the greatest deal with Russia, and all it requires is a big beautiful signature.
You want a cap on nuclear weapons, and the New START treaty is just that. But the treaty will expire in 2021 unless you act to save it. Here are five reasons why you should extend the New START treaty in 2020.
1. It will help you get reelected. Polls show that at least 66 percent of Trump voters in every single state support treaty extension.
2. It will save the United States billions of dollars. If the treaty expires, the United States will have to spend more money gathering information about Russia’s nuclear weapons.
3. Since the first START treaty was signed in 1991, Russia’s nuclear arsenal has declined dramatically. Meanwhile America’s nuclear capability has made tremendous progress and, thanks to you, the United States is making the greatest weapons ever made. Lock in the US advantage!
4. China’s nuclear arsenal is so, so tiny, it’s not worth including them in a treaty. It’s minuscule. They’ll never have a nuclear button as big as yours.
5. You can make the treaty even better by giving it a nice new name. How does the “New Superior Trump Arsenal Treaty” sound? Or how about the “New Strategic Treaty Advancing the Reelection of Trump”?
If you want to read something longer, some top nuclear experts have plenty more reasons to extend it.
Now get out your Sharpie!
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