美国总统演讲.doc

2010-11-22 Today, I’d like to speak with you about an issue that is fundamental to America ’s national security: the need for the Senate to approve the New START Treaty this year. This Treaty is rooted ina practice that dates back to Ronald Reagan. The idea is simple – as the two nations with over 90 percent of the world ’s nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia have a responsibility to work together to reduce our arsenals. And to ensure that our national security is protected, the United States has an interest in tracking Russia ’s nuclear arsenal through a verification effort that puts . inspectors on the ground. As President Reagan said when he signed a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union in 1987, “ Trust, but verify. ” That is precisely what the New START Treaty does. After nearly a full year of negotiations, pleted an agreement earlier this year that cuts by a third the number of long-range nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles that the United States and Russia can deploy, while ensuring that America retains a strong nuclear deterrent, and can put inspectors back on the ground in Russia. The Treaty also helped us reset our relations with Russia, which led to concrete benefits. For instance, Russia has been indispensable to our efforts to enforce strong sanctions on Iran, to secure loose nuclear material from terrorists, and to equip our troops in Afghanista