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Rep. Turner warns against cuts in nuclear arsenal

Congressman backs $85 billion upgrade to weapons system.

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By Jack Torry , Washington Bureau 12:17 AM Wednesday, July 27, 2011

WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Turner warned Tuesday that it is a “misguided policy" for the Obama administration to consider deeper cuts in the nation’s nuclear arsenal at a time when Iran and North Korea continue to pursue nuclear weapons.

In a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Turner, R-Centerville, said even though the New START Treaty with Russia has just gone into effect, the “narrative coming out of the White House would lead one to believe that the administration is rushing — yet again — towards more reductions’’ in nuclear arms.

“As I look at the world we live in – where nuclear dangers from proliferation threats such as Iran and North Korea, the instability between India and Pakistan, and the sophistication of Russian and Chinese nuclear capabilities are all increasing – it seems a misguided priority to focus on disarmament, and U.S. disarmament in particular, when the conditions that might permit it don’t exist,’’ Turner said.

The New START pact, approved last December by the U.S. Senate, requires the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals to about 1,550 warheads apiece.

In a 2009 speech in Prague, President Barack Obama pledged that the U.S. would “take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons.’’ But Obama made clear that “as long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee that defense to our allies.’’

Turner, who chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces, urged the administration to vigorously proceed with its plans to spend $85 billion during the next decade to modernize the current U.S. nuclear weapon system.

“I want to be clear: I am open to proposals to reduce our stockpile hedge,’’ Turner said. “But the smart and sustainable way to do this is to modernize the nuclear stockpile, to replace our ‘decrepit’ infrastructure, and to renew our “atrophying” nuclear enterprise.’’

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