The Political Aims Behind the US- Russian New START Treaty

The Russo-American New START Treaty on long-range ballistic missiles was signed in 2010 with each side given time to meet its commitments. It expired in 2018 but was extended to 2026 when Biden took office.   The New START Treaty is an extension of the Start 1 Treaty signed by George Bush Sr and Gorbachev in 1991, and seconded by Start 2, which was not adopted and Start 3 over which negotiations ended in a stalemate.  The New START Treaty was signed by US President Obama and Russian President Medvedev in 2010 and it aimed at reducing strategic offensive weapons, and giving each country the right to audit the commitment of the other party to the stipulations of the treaty in respect of limiting intercontinental-range nuclear weapons. The treaty also stipulated that the two sides would commit themselves to reduce nuclear warheads to 700 intercontinental missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, strategic warheads, 1550 nuclear warheads and 800 sea, air and land launchers. 

The New START Treaty falls within the framework of regulating the military relationship between the US and Russia. And although the acquisition of nuclear weapon has become an immunity against wars due to its devastating consequences on all sides, such agreements that America concludes are however indispensable in order to exclude armed conflict completely from the tools of struggle, strip opponents of the chance to benefit from military power, which represents the most significant element for imposing willpower, and confine disputes and rivalries with her opponents to diplomatic activity, the interactants of which she controls in conducting international relations in exploiting the power of her influence in the world and her dominion over international institutions, as well as her economic clout, widespread values, the supremacy of the capitalist system and the dominion of her currency over the world financial system.   America needs such treaties to reassure the capitalists and preserve the stable environment for investment, which represents the backbone of her economic supremacy. Hence, it is a treaty reflecting reassurance among the countries and masses of the world since the presence of nuclear intercontinental missiles leads to incertitude with the impact of the tension between America and Russia on the world’s US dollar reserves in particular and on world markets.

On the other hand, the US benefits from the New START Treaty  by corroborating her leadership role in terms of regulating military relationships and controlling world peace and security, in addition to the need to dissipate the apprehensions of her citizens over Russia’s nuclear weapons; this is why she sought to extend the New START Treaty on long-range missiles, contrary to the treaty on medium-range nuclear missiles, which is pertinent to European security, and from which Donald Trump withdrew to send shivers down the spine of the European Union, ensuring America’s manipulation of Europe’s security via NATO while incentivising the Europeans to increase their military expenditure. This helps America reinforce the European states’ impotence so that she may contain and blackmail them, and ensure they continue to be harnessed to execute her international initiatives and plans. This explains why Donald Trump rebuked Macron when he called for the need to review Putin’s proposal to turn Europe into a safe region from the threats of short and medium-range nuclear missiles through a moratorium on deploying short- and medium-range missiles in Europe.

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