THERE ARE LESS THAN 2 WEEKS LEFT! The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on the New START treaty on September 15th.

Senator Johnny Isakson

We need you to call Senator Iskason RIGHT NOW to express your strong support of the treaty. It's very easy and we've provided the technology for you. Just click on either link below to be connected with Senator Isakson's office:

Atlanta, GA (CLICK to call 770.661.0999 )

Washington, DC (CLICK to call 202.224.3643)

Print out and send this letter to Senator Johnny Isakson:

One Overton Park
3625 Cumberland Boulevard
Suite 970
Atlanta, GA 30339

Website: http://isakson.senate.gov

Senator Saxby Chambliss:

We need you to call Senator Chambliss RIGHT NOW to express your strong support of the treaty. It's very easy and we've provided the technology for you. Just click on either link below to be connected with Senator Chambliss' office:

Atlanta, GA (CLICK to call 770.763.9090)

Washington, DC (CLICK to call 202.224.3521)

Print out and send this letter to Senator Saxby Chambliss

100 Galleria Parkway
Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339

Website: http://chambliss.senate.gov

Want to do more?

• Sign up to Phone Bank: Join us as well call progressive Georgians and ask them to call our Senators telling them to vote in favor of New START
• Read this Editorial Board Packet
• Check out the Countdown to Zero Discussion Guide
• Sign up for the Georgia WAND Nuclear Committee (email: georgiawand@wand.org)
• Friend Georgia WAND on Facebook
• Share your new-found knowledge on START to your friends via your favorite social networking sites.
• Tell your friends in different cities to SEE Countdown to Zero (click here for a national listing)
• Browse the official Countdown to Zero website to take additional actions

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is in the U.S. Senate, where it needs 67 votes for ratification. It’s not often that we have the opportunity to weigh in on a concrete step that will improve nuclear security — these chances sometimes come around just once per year.

Yet the New START does not yet have the full support of the U.S. Senate — so take this opportunity to tell your elected officials that you won’t tolerate partisan nonsense when it comes to a treaty that’s good for national security and sound moral choice. Failure to ratify the New START would not only damage strategic relations between the US and Russia, it would be a huge step in the wrong direction toward nuclear insecurity.

Your communication will make a difference. Senators, before voting, want to know if their office has received info on this issue. Volume counts, passion on nuclear weapons and security issues counts, the fact that you are a registered Georgia voter counts, your polite and respectful approach will count.

Right now, the New START treaty is in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that is chaired by John Kerry (D-MA). Hearings have been ongoing since May 18. Ranking minority member is Dick Lugar (R-IN). Lugar works very closely with former Senator Sam Nunn (GA) at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and is considered a YES vote already on this treaty. Johnny Isakson is an important member of this committee. He has not yet committed himself to a “Yes” vote. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and several other high level officials have testified and answered questions from members of the committee.

New START Organizer, Jonathan, on his way to deliver the word of the people!

Last week, Georgia WAND delivered over 550 letters to each Georgia Senator urging them to vote YES  to ratify the New START treaty.

We collected these letters from a wide variety of concerned Georgians, such as members of the audience who recently enjoyed Countdown to Zero, members of churches across Atlanta, members of the Atlanta peace community, youth who attended the Highland Ave Beer Festival, and many more!

The 550 letters we delivered last week are in addition to another 500 letters we delivered to the Senators in the previous summer months.

With your help we are applying the pressure to Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. The Senators are hearing our voices, and we will not relent until the New START treaty is ratified!

Our goal is to deliver at least  500 more letters to each Senator's office before the critical Senate Foreign Relations  Committee vote on September 15^th.

Please help us achieve this goal by printing out this letter to Senator Isakson and this letter to Senator Chambliss. Fill in the blank fields and feel free to add your own personal note at the bottom! You can either mail the letters to the Senators yourself, or drop them off at the Georgia WAND office at 250 Georgia Ave. SE Suite 202.

Alternatively, or in addition, call Georgia's Senators and tell them to vote YES to ratify the New START treaty, which will make us safe from the threat of nuclear weapons.

Senator Isakson: 770-661-0999,  Senator Chambliss: 770-763-9090

We need your help getting a message to Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss about the New START Treaty. Join fellow Georgians to write and call our state Senators Johny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss to urge them vote to ratify the New START treaty. Both methods of contact count, but, if you can only do one, please call!

In order for New START to come into effect, 2/3 of the Senate must vote for its ratification. Senators Isakson and Chambliss’ votes are crucial; they must hear our voices! Please call today!

Below, we've included a sample letter for your convenience. Please click on the respective Senators' names to download a Microsoft Word file from which you can print, sign, and mail. If you have any questions or need any help, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Email RatifyNewSTART@wand.org or call 404.524.5999.

Senator Johnny Isakson
One Overton Park, Suite 970
3625 Cumberland Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30339

Phone: 770-661-0999

Senator Saxby Chambliss
100 Galleria Parkway
Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339

Phone: 770-763-9090

[Circle of Scribes generally meets in person monthly, because we are working so diligently to get New START ratified, we're launching a daily campaign September 1-15.]

September 2

Local Candidate Forum

Join Georgia WAND and Get Out the Vote for a local candidate forum that will address issues such as tax reform, business development, work/family policies, unemployment, immigration, environment, education and nuclear arms.

Who: All candidates were invited from Congressional District 7, Senate District 5, House Districts 102, 103, and 106 and County Commission 2 have been invited.

When: September 2, 6pm to 8pm

Where: 4000 Five Forks Trickum Road , SW, Lilburn, Georgia 30047

Hosted by Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions ( www.gawand.org) and 9to5 Atlanta ( www.9to5.org). Contact Michelle Reese at 404-524-5999 or gagotv@wand.org for more information.

September 3
Peace Dove Sewing Party

Piece by piece, help us resurrect the Jane Goodall peace dove as we sew her back together.  She will  fly  at the celebration of  former Georgia WAND Board President, Sally Wylde's life.

When: Ongoing from Friday, September 3 to Thursday,  September 9

Where: Georgia WAND Office, 250 Georgia Ave. SE, Ste. 202

Please contact Bobbie Paul to sign up to volunteer or for more information. She can be reached by email at Bobbie@gawand.org or by phone at 404.524.5999

September 3,10,17,24
Stand for Peace

Be a part of Atlanta's longest running Stand for Peace!  Georgia WAND has organized weekly peace vigils  since August 28, 2002 when our country seemed determined to go to war with Iraq. Stand for Peace continues as US military engagement Afghanistan persists.

When: Fridays in September from 12-1. Meet in the Colony Square food court for lunch and discussion afterward.

Where: The corner of Peachtree and 14th Streets

September 4
GOTV Voter Registration Drive-Labor Day Festival
At Stone Mountain

Volunteers are needed to work in shifts  to help register residents in key areas of Gwinnett County for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

When: Saturday, September 4, 12pm-4pm

Where: Labor Day Festival At Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Drive Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Free festival parking passes are available for volunteers! Different time slots are available in two-hour shifts to fit your schedule.  Contact Michelle Reese at 770-722-5672 or GAGOTV@wand.org and join us as we reach out into the community and make each vote count!

September 4, 11 and 18
GOTV Voter Registration Drive

Take to the streets! Volunteers are needed to work in shifts  to help register residents in key areas of Gwinnett County for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

When: September 4, 11 and 18 10am-2pm

Where: Wal-Mart Supercenter  (4004 Lawernceville Hwy, Lilburn Ga, 30047)

Volunteers are always welcome! Different time slots are available in two-hour shifts to fit your schedule and refreshments will be provided.  Contact Michelle Reese at 770-722-5672 or GAGOTV@wand.org and join us as we reach out into the community and make each vote count!

September 8 and 13
Phone Banking for START

We need your help getting a message to Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss about the New START Treaty.

Join us as we phone fellow Georgians to ask them to urge our Senators to vote to ratify the New START treaty.

In order for New START to come into effect, 2/3 of the Senate must vote for its ratification. Senators Isakson and Chambliss’ votes are crucial; they must hear our voices!

Please help us rally Georgians to urge our Senators to ratify the New START treaty.

Sign up to volunteer!

We'll provide you with a script and explain the details of the New START treaty to make sure your an expert before you call.

When: 5:30-8:30 pm Wednesday, September 8 and Monday, September 13

Where: You can phone bank at the Georgia WAND office at 250 Georgia Ave. SE, Ste. 202
or from home!

If you're unavailable the three dates below, but still want to volunteer, let us know!  To get set up with a script, and phone numbers, to call from home e-mail Jonathan at RatifyNewStart[at]wand.org or click here to sign up to volunteer online.

September 10
Peace Dove Decorating Party

Help us decorate the Jane Goodall Peace Dove to be flown at the celebration former Georgia WAND Board President, Sally Wylde's life.  Creativity is welcomed!!

When: Friday, September 10

Where: Georgia WAND Office, 250 Georgia Ave. SE, Ste. 202

Please contact Bobbie Paul to sign up to volunteer or for more information. She can be reached by email at bobbie@gawand.org or by phone at 404.524.5999

September 11
GOTV Voter Registration Drive- Yellow Daisy Festival
At Stone Mountain

Volunteers are needed to work in shifts  to help register residents in key areas of Gwinnett County for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

When: Saturday, September 11, 12pm-4pm

Where: Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Drive Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Free festival parking passes are available for volunteers! Different time slots are available in two-hour shifts to fit your schedule.  Contact Michelle Reese at 770-722-5672 or GAGOTV@wand.org and join us as we reach out into the community and make each vote count!

September 11
Memorial Service for Sally Wylde

As many of you know, former Georgia WAND Board President, Sally Wylde, passed away on Thursday, August 19. Melanie Vaughn West and Woody Bartlett have been asked  to preside at the upcoming service.

When: Saturday, Sept 11th at 5pm

Where: Oakhurst Baptist Church (222 East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA.  Lanny Peters).

At the end of the Oakhurst Service there will be a procession out of the church(about 6:00 pm) that will form  into a puppet parade/processional to the Oakhurst Community Garden (down East Lake to 435 Oakview Road - permits pending). Please feel free to bring a puppet and Georgia WAND will  resurrect the Jane Goodall Peace Dove. Puppets can be stashed  at the church during the service. For those unable to walk the entire distance they can join in the parade along the route or meet folks at the Garden.

Invited are the Feed and Seed Band, The Dancing Flowers for Peace. You are encouraged to start thinking creatively about your puppet!

There will be a potluck reception at the garden at 6:30 pm with time for sharing stories, an artists' exhibit and those who loved Sally. Volunteers are needed to help with all aspects of this celebration.

September 15/16
Vote on New START

Finally the countdown is over! The Senate Foreign Relations Committe, on which Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson sits, is scheduled to vote on New START. With a majority vote in favor, the treaty will be passed to the full Senate for a final vote on ratification.

September 16
New START Tally Rally

As New START news begin to travel, join us in our continued support of the treaty and (hopefully) celebration of its impending ratification.

When: Thursday, September 16, 6-9 pm

Where: Manuel's Tavern, 602 N Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30307-1433

For more information contact Courtney Hanson by email at  Courtney@gawand.org or phone at 404.524.5999.

September 25
Duluth Fall Festival Voter Registration Drive

Join us at the kick-off to the Duluth Fall Festival. Enjoy the festivities and help community members register to vote.

When: Saturday, September 25, 10am-2pm

Where: W Lawrenceville Street and Main Street, Duluth, GA 30096

Volunteers are always welcome! Different time slots are available in two-hour shifts to fit your schedule and refreshments will be provided.  Contact Michelle Reese at 770-722-5672 or GAGOTV@wand.org and join us as we reach out into the community and make each vote count!

September 27
Afghanistan 9th Anniversary Potluck & Program

On the 9^th anniversary of the Afghanistan War, join Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition/Atlanta for potluck and programming. Bring a small dish for a potluck and stay for briefings on today’s foreign policy, economic and educational crises and specifics on October actions calling for change.  Learn what you can do to push Washington for an exit from Afghanistan now, well-paying jobs, quality public  education.

When: Monday, September 20, 6:30pm

Where: 7801 W. Howard, Decatur, GA

Parking is availabe 3 blocks beyond East Lake MARTA Station.

September 28
Community and Resistance Tour

Please join us for the Community and Resistance Tour featuring New Orleans activists Jesse Muhammad, Victoria Law and Jordan Flaherty. The event, for anyone interested in issues of health care, education, criminal justice, housing or media justice, will include a multimedia presentation from the front lines of social justice struggles.

When: Tuesday,  September 28, 2010, 7pm-9:30pm

Where: American Friends Service Committee  Atlanta Regional Office,  60 Walton Street, NE, Atlanta

For directions and information: 404-819-7863

We recommend that you take MARTA.   After 7pm there is limited free street parking on Walton & Forsyth Streets.

Sponsored by: American Friends Service Committee, Georgia WAND, Alternate ROOTS, Amnesty Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America, Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, MA in American Studies at Kennesaw State University, Movement to End Israeli Apartheid - GA, and Atlanta International Action Center, Solidarity

Last night Georgia WAND completed its first phone bank to spread the word about New START and ask Georgians to call their Senators urging them to vote YES in order to ratify this important treaty.

Our volunteers called  from home and from the Georgia WAND office, making the phone bank wildly successful!

We had 8 people calling progressive women all over Georgia. Here are our results:

• We informed 120 people about the New START treaty.
• 42 people pledged to call both Senators Isakson and Chambliss to vote YES in order to ratify the New START treaty.

We learned that most people don’t know about the New START treaty yet. But once we had time to explain why it’s crucial for our safety, most people were very receptive and shocked that our Senators needed convincing about its merits.

Thank you so much to all our volunteers: Krista Brewer, Bob Farquhar, Courtney Hanson, Kelly Persons, Betsy Rivard, and Sam Wilkes!

We are holding future phone banks on September 8^th and September 13^th. Both begin at 5:30 pm. We can promise pizza, beverages, and a grand ole time. Sign up  HERE!

We need your help getting a message to Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss about the New START Treaty.

Join us as we phone fellow Georgians to ask them to urge our Senators to vote to ratify the New START treaty.

In order for New START to come into effect, 2/3 of the Senate must vote for its ratification. Senators Isakson and Chambliss’ votes are crucial; they must hear our voices!

Please help us rally Georgians to urge our Senators to ratify the New START treaty.

Sign up to volunteer!

We'll provide you with a script and explain the details of the New START treaty to make sure your an expert before you call.

If you're unavailable the three dates below, but still want to volunteer, let us know! You can even make calls from your own home! To get set up with a script, and phone numbers, e-mail Jonathan at RatifyNewStart[at]wand.org

5:30 pm - 8:30 pm on 3 different nights

We will provide you everything you will need: call script and phone numbers

Get Involved!

If you're interested in getting involved with events or any aspect of GOTV, please contact Michelle via email (GAGOTV@wand.org) or phone (404-524-5999).

September 2: Local Candidate Forum

July 24: This Saturday is Get Out the Vote Drive!

This Saturday, July 24, marks our first Get Out the Vote drive of the year! This upcoming event will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Lilburn Ga (4004 Lawernceville Hwy, Lilburn Ga, 30047). Volunteers are always welcome, and there are different time slots available to fit your schedule in two hour shifts as well as refreshments.  If you would like to help, please contact Michelle Reese, at gagotv@wand.org or give her a call at 770-722-5672. Come join us as we reach into the community and make each vote count!

Get Out the Vote is a campaign to register voters in the state of Georgia. This year we are focusing on Gwinnett County. Due to the number of key elections taking place within this region, it is important that everyone who is eligible to vote is registered to do so. These new voters could be the deciding factor in these elections.  Issues such as the new health care bill and state spending are all going to be effected by this election so it is important that everyone gives their input.  It is important that everyone who can vote is able to and this voter drive is an important step in ensuring that every person's vote is counted.

There will be a second Get Out the Vote drive next Saturday, July 31. The next drive will be at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, 1400 Lawrenceville Hwy, Lawrenceville 30044. If this date works better with your schedule, please contact Michelle and volunteer. There will be multiple time slots for your convenience to pick from in two hour intervals and refreshments will be provided.

July 15: GOTV Voter Training

Mark your calendars now for Voter Training on July 15th at 7pm at the Georgia WAND office (250 Georgia Avenue, Room 209, Atlanta, GA 30312).  This session focuses on mobilizing people and the voting process. Special training by Helen Butler, Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for People's Agenda.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/08/25/1241844/eatons-advice-worth-heeding.html

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 22, 2010; A01

When Rose Gottemoeller began negotiating the new nuclear treaty with Moscow, the U.S. diplomat got questions on the usual topics: missile defense, warheads, inspections.

And then there was this one from the Russian generals: "How come you've got so many women?"

To the Russians' astonishment, an array of American women faced them across the negotiating table. Gottemoeller led the American team during the negotiations, which concluded in March. Her deputy was Marcie Ries, another diplomat. The top two U.S. scientists were female. And helping to close the deal on the New START agreement was Ellen O. Tauscher, a State Department undersecretary and former congresswoman.

The U.S. delegation reflected a little-noticed shift in the tough-guy world of national security. Twenty-five years after White House aide Donald Regan famously opined that women were "not going to understand throw-weights," American females clearly get nuclear policy.

They also run it.

Or a lot of it, anyway. Women hold senior nuclear positions at the Pentagon and White House. Search out the old office of Gen. Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project's "Indispensable Man," and you will find a woman. She is Karin Look, who helped oversee the dismantling of Libya's nuclear weapons program.

"From me to the secretary, it's all female," said Look, a senior verification official whose chain of command extends up to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The nuclear experts are indicative of an expanding cast of top female national security officials. Women occupy between 21 and 29 percent of the senior positions at the State Department, USAID, the Pentagon and other national security and foreign policy agencies, according to a recent survey by Women in International Security, a professional group. About 13 percent of the Senior Intelligence Service is female, it found.

"We're really at a very critical juncture in the field at large. We've had many more women than we've ever seen," said Jolynn Shoemaker, executive director of the group. "It's particularly visible in this administration."

Current and former officials say the increase is not just due to the Obama administration. Gradually, the women who began taking national security jobs in the military, the diplomatic service, think tanks and other institutions in the 1970s and 1980s are rising to the top.

They include people such as Michele Flournoy, the Defense Department's undersecretary for policy and one of the highest-ranking women in Pentagon history; Letitia A. Long, who recently was named to run the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and Laura Holgate, a top nuclear official with the National Security Council.

"We're not overnight successes," said Susan Burk, a 34-year government employee and the top U.S. official at the recent review of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Perhaps "we have to work more years to get to these positions."

Collaboration

Nuclear experts dismiss the idea that the expanding role of women has changed policy. While the cliche persists that women are more peace-loving than men, "I have certainly never seen that," Look said.

But she and several other women said female leaders can often have a more collaborative style.

Women are "perhaps more attuned to working on teams, which I think is vitally important if you're going to have a good negotiation," said Laura Kennedy, U.S. ambassador to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament.

Kennedy began her career at the State Department in 1975, three years after authorities lifted a ban on married women in the diplomatic service.

"There really were very few women in the State Department," she said. "It's been an enormous transformation over the years."

As Kennedy was getting her start as a young diplomat in Moscow, Gottemoeller began tackling nuclear issues as a Russia analyst at the Rand Corp. She became a junior member of the delegation that negotiated the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which was signed in 1991. Those lengthy negotiations in Geneva "were a great incubator for the generation that's of age today," including several current female nuclear officials, Gottemoeller said.

Still, it wasn't always easy being a woman in the U.S. delegation back then. Linton Brooks, the chief U.S. negotiator at the time, remembers how one Soviet official balked at negotiating with a female American diplomat.

The next time that Soviet official held a meeting, Brooks sent the American woman back -- with six other women.

"You had to make it very clear that some other delegations may have had issues, but I certainly didn't," Brooks said.

These days, most of that overt discrimination is over. In U.S. nuclear policy circles, it has gone virtually unnoticed that Gottemoeller is the first woman to negotiate a major U.S. arms-control treaty.

"Internally it doesn't attract any attention at all," Brooks said. "It's just, 'Of course Rose is the negotiator. She's the right person.' "

Female American nuclear experts may still attract attention abroad, but several said their gender has little impact on their work.

In fact, when Gottemoeller was named head of the U.S. delegation for New START, one Russian military newspaper warned of the "danger" in striking a deal with a woman who had run the Moscow Carnegie Center and had an "inside knowledge of Moscow's logic."

Still, 'minority status'

Despite their advances, American women are still nowhere near equality in terms of their share of senior national security jobs.

The recent report by Women in International Security noted that female professionals "have remained acutely aware of their minority status in many international security environments."

And many of the women interviewed for the study "pointed to a need to establish credibility quickly, especially in the defense, intelligence and law enforcement areas, and acknowledged that this was sometimes difficult."

In addition, women faced "unique challenges" balancing work and family, it said.

Gottemoeller said her most difficult years professionally were when her two children were growing up. In 1993, after the election of Bill Clinton, she was offered a job on the National Security Council, which is famous for its grueling hours. Her husband, also a State Department employee, agreed to pick up more of the parenting responsibilities.

"My husband and I had a deal. He said, two years in the NSC. And that's it. And I said okay. It worked for us," she said. "Luckily in those two years we were able to get the deal struck where we were able to get nukes out of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus" after the collapse of the Soviet Union."

During the latest negotiations, Gottemoeller noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry actually included a few young women in its delegation.

"Things are changing," she said, "even in their government."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/21/AR2010082102600_pf.html

Ready to Get Out the Vote? Follow these four easy steps to get involved in the 2010 election and reach out to help others get involved, too.

Step 1: Register to vote.

Click here for voter registration information.

Step 2: Know your candidates.

Click here for your voter page. Use the MVP Login and then find the link that says 'click here to see qualified candidates'.

Step 3: Help others register.

Take action with Georgia WAND. Join the GOTV Campaign today!

Step 4: Learn more from our partners.

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START expiration ends U.S. inspection of Russian nuclear bases

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010; A01

For the first time in 15 years, U.S. officials have lost their ability to inspect Russian long-range nuclear bases, where they had become accustomed to peering into missile silos, counting warheads and whipping out tape measures to size up rockets.

The inspections had occurred every few weeks under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. But when START expired in December, the checks stopped.

Meanwhile, in an obscure, fluorescent-lighted State Department office staffed round-the-clock, a stream of messages from Russia about routine movements of its nuclear missiles and bombers has slowed to a trickle.

The Obama administration hopes the inspections and messages will soon resume under the New START agreement, which was signed by the two countries in April. But the pact is on hold in the Senate. If it faces long delays, or is voted down, the U.S. government will lose critical insight into Russia's nuclear forces, officials say.

"The problem of the breakdown of our verification, which lapsed December 5, is very serious and impacts our national security," Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), one of the chamber's top nuclear experts, said in a recent hearing.

In months of debate over New START, there has been little focus on the implications of the lapse in nuclear checks. Instead, hearings have centered on such issues as whether the pact would inhibit U.S. missile defense.

"I thought we were just going to continue doing business as usual" as the replacement treaty was debated, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said when a reporter noted the inspection cutoff.

The Obama administration has emphasized that New START will require the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals. But many experts say the verification measures matter even more.

That's not because they think a nuclear attack is imminent. But even two decades after the end of the Cold War, Russia has about 2,500 deployed nukes capable of hitting the United States. U.S. officials like to keep an eye on them.

"Without the [new] treaty and its verification measures, the United States would have much less insight into Russian strategic forces, thereby requiring our military to plan based on worst-case assumptions," Jim Miller, a senior nuclear policy official in the Pentagon, testified last month. "This would be an expensive and potentially destabilizing approach."

Kyl and other Republicans say that before voting on a pact that reduces the nation's stockpiles, they want to ensure there is enough money to modernize the nuclear complex. They say they should not rush the treaty because the monitoring measures have expired.

"It's not an argument for voting before you know all the facts," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

For the Cold Warriors who plodded through arms-control talks back in the 1980s, getting inspectors onto the other guy's bases was a major breakthrough.

"It was the holy grail to get on-site inspections, boots on the ground in the Soviet Union," said Franklin Miller, who worked in arms control for more than two decades, ending up as special assistant to President George W. Bush.

Even without those inspections, the U.S. and Russian governments can still check on each other's forces by using reconnaissance satellites and radar. But those methods are not perfect.

For example, a satellite cannot peer into a Russian underground silo and see whether the missile inside is carrying one nuclear bomb or 10, officials say.

"One of our dirty little secrets is, when the [Berlin] Wall went down, the United States reoriented a lot of intelligence capacity away from the Soviet Union and Russia. To some fair degree . . . the IC [intelligence community] was relying on U.S. inspectors to be on the ground," Miller said.

The "boots on the ground" include people such as Phil Smith, a former Air Force crew chief for nuclear-tipped missiles. He has made about 20 inspection visits to Russian nuclear facilities.

"We have 15 years of experience under START, understanding where everything is. We've been through these sites multiple times," he said in an interview.

The U.S. teams typically arrive at Russian bases with only about a day's notice. Many of the inspectors' methods are surprisingly low-tech: They stretch tape measures along missiles and poke flashlights into trailers. The inspections allow each side to count nuclear weapons on a sampling of missiles, bombers or submarine launch tubes and look around one another's maintenance facilities and test ranges.

"If something is atypical . . . I will not be bashful about saying, 'Okay, we need to take a closer look at this one.' That's the kind of dynamic you have on the ground that you wouldn't have with a satellite," Smith said.

Inspectors check what they see against a database compiled by both sides with the numbers, characteristics and locations of their long-range nuclear weapons.

Until December, both sides updated that database constantly. Russia sent about 1,500 notifications a year to a special computer at the State Department's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, where a "ding-dong" would signal an incoming message. ("It sounds like Avon calling," explained one technician.)

The messages, which the center distributed to U.S. security agencies, included information on upcoming inspections, the destruction of nuclear launchers and movement of nuclear-capable missiles and bombers.

"Now we don't get any of that information. We have less and less visibility into their status of forces," said Ned Williams, the director of the center. (Notifications of missile test launches have continued, to ensure that neither side mistakenly thinks a nuclear attack is underway.)

Few experts dispute the value of having inspections. But some critics have argued that New START is not as good as its predecessor.

The Obama administration "agreed to gut the monitoring and verification measures and limitations necessary to render it effectively verifiable," said Paula DeSutter, the assistant secretary of state for verification in the George W. Bush administration.

For example, she said, the Obama administration acquiesced to a Russian demand to exchange less telemetry -- the flight data from ballistic missile tests. That information helps U.S. officials understand the number of warheads the Russians will load onto their missiles. Under New START, the Russians are required to provide the data from only five tests, instead of all 10 or 12 they do annually.

U.S. officials say the change is not significant because, under the new treaty, they will be counting the number of warheads on missiles and not using estimates, as was the case before. They contend that the new treaty will help each side get a more accurate count by assigning an ID number to each warhead and launcher.

Although U.S. nuclear inspectors are not traveling to Russia these days, they are busy training, sometimes with mock "Russian" inspectors.

The idea, Smith said, is "to make sure when we're called upon to do this, we're ready to go."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/16/AR2010081605422_pf.html