Obama nominee for Asst SecState wants INTERNATIONAL controls on US CONVENTIONAL ARMS? How far are we going with this insanity?

GERTZ:

The Obama administration's nominee to be assistant secretary of state for verification said last week confirmed that she favors lumping U.S. conventional weapons with U.S. nuclear arms, a position critics say could lead to international restrictions and controls on conventional weapons.

Rose Gottemoeller, the nominee, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 26.

Gottemoeller was asked by Sen. Jim Demint about an article in the publication Arms Control Today she had written advocating the combining of conventional and nuclear arms.

She stated that while her views outside government do not necessarily reflect what she will do inside she admitted that "we would not be paying any particular price at the negotiating table if we should count conventional weapons of that kind as nuclear."

Critics of arms control say that combining conventional long-range strike weapons with nuclear arms could lead to agreements that restrict one of the most strategic weapons in the U.S. arsenal and plans for long-range conventional ballistic and cruise missiles that can be used against terrorists or arms proliferation targets.

Gottemoeller also testified at the hearing that the Obama administration plans a new round of arms talks with Russia on strategic arms. "If confirmed as assistant secretary, as part of my responsibilities, again, ... I would head up the START follow-on negotiations on behalf of the United States government," she said, noting that she will also seek to resolve problems with the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty.

UH, how many forces do we have in Europe? And excuse me, but with Poland and eastern european nations in NATO, aren't all Russian forces now IN RUSSIA? Aren't you just assuming an awful lot to think they would arrange where and how many of their own forces based in their own country go and stay?

The Obama administration is planning to re-launch Cold War-style arms negotiations with Moscow as part of its focus on diplomacy.

OY