Presbyterian Washington Office, in line with previous GA actions, urges:

Voice Your Opposition to the U.S. Withdrawal from the ABM Treaty

[1-10-02]

Last week, President Bush announced that the United States will unilaterally pull out of the ABM Treaty. U.S. withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty will not only hinder current and future arms reduction negotiations, it will also encourage other states to pursue nuclear weapon developments. Without the ABM Treaty, President Bush can now proceed unhindered with the development of a national missile defense (NMD) system.

Action:

Strong immediate opposition is needed to reverse President Bush's decision. There is a six-month interval before the U.S. is officially withdrawn from the treaty. Write a letter to President Bush asking him to rescind the decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty. You can fax you letter c/o Dr. Condoleezza Rice at 202-456-9190.

Call the White House comment line at 202-456-6213 or e-mail President Bush at president@whitehouse.gov opposing U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.

Contact your Senators and Representatives and voice your opposition to the withdrawal from the treaty.

Background:

The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union went into effect in 1972. The purpose was to restrict the development of national missile defense systems. The rationale was that if each side is vulnerable to attack, each would refrain from launching a first strike. This was part of the Cold War doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). Since then the ABM Treaty has been a central part of the arms control structure that has restrained the deployment of nuclear weapons.

U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty will contribute to the collapse of the arms control structure without putting in place an alternative scheme. This will encourage Russia to maintain multi-warhead strategic missiles rather than eliminating them, as envisioned under the never ratified START II Treaty. Even if the U.S. arsenal is reduced to 1,700 to 2,200 warheads, as President Bush has proposed, and even if Russia matches this number, the MAD doctrine will still be in place and large numbers of missiles will be maintained under high alert. Therefore, the premise of the ABM Treaty remains valid.

President Bush wants to withdraw from the ABM Treaty to proceed with development of national missile defense. Such a system is illusory, unnecessary, wasteful and could start a new arms race. For further arguments against missile defense, see the letter to President Bush from religious leaders, and an article on National Missile Defense.

For more material from and about the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church, go to their web site.

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