14 October 1999
(Blames Senate rejection of CTBT on partisan politics) (1010) By Wendy S. Ross Washington File White House Correspondent Washington -- Despite Senate rejection of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the United States will continue to honor its commitments under the Treaty, President Clinton told reporters at an hour long news conference October 14 devoted largely to the arms control issue. "I will not let yesterday's partisanship stand as our final word on the nuclear Test Ban Treaty," Clinton told reporters gathered in the East Room of the White House. The United States, he said, will not resume nuclear testing and "will continue to pursue the fight against the spread of nuclear weapons....We will continue the policy we have maintained since 1992 of not conducting nuclear tests." Clinton called on Russia, China, Britain, France and all other countries to continue to refrain from testing, and he urged nations that have not done so to sign and ratify the Treaty. He said he will continue to do all he can "to make that case to the Senate" for ratifying the CTBT. "When all is said and done, I have no doubt that the United States will ratify this Treaty," he said. Clinton accused "hard-line Republicans" in the Senate of "irresponsibly" forcing a vote against the Treaty and said the Senate's rejection of it late October 13 was because of blatant "partisan politics of the worst kind" that pose risks "to the safety of the American people and the world." The near party-line vote of 51-48 against the Treaty, with one Democrat voting "present" was 19 votes short of the 67 needed to ratify the Treaty. Only four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it. By this vote, Clinton said, "the Senate majority has turned its back on 50 years of American leadership against the spread of weapons of mass destruction. They are saying America does not need to lead either by effort or by example. They are saying we don't need our friends or allies. They are betting our children's future on the reckless proposition that we can go it alone, that at the height of our and prosperity, we should bury our heads in the sand behind a wall." Clinton spoke of "signs of a new isolationism" among some of the opponents of the Treaty. "You see it in the refusal to pay our UN dues. You see it in the woefully inadequate budget for foreign affairs that includes meeting our obligations to the Middle East peace process, and to the continuing efforts to destroy and safeguard Russian nuclear materials," the President said. "You see it in the refusal to adopt our proposals to do our part to stem the tide of global warming, even though these proposals plainly would create American jobs," he said. But, he said, "That is not where I stand, and that is not where the American people stand. They understand that to be strong, we must not only have a powerful military; we must also lead, as we have done time and again, and as the whole world expects us to do, to build a more responsible, interdependent world." Clinton also warned India and Pakistan not to "take yesterday's vote as a sign that America doesn't care whether you resume nuclear testing and build up your nuclear arsenals. "We do care," he said. "You shouldn't do it. It's not necessary. It will hurt your economy and endanger your future." The President said he hoped that Pakistan, where the military earlier this week took control of the government, "will move to a civilian government as quickly as possible." White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart told reporters that America has always taken a leadership role around the world in nonproliferation and will continue playing such a role. The vote rejecting ratification of the Treaty, he said, "is a detour but we will get back to the main road, we will continue to play a leadership role around the world; it is our obligation to the rest of the world as the most powerful country in the world." The United States, he said, will continue its position of not testing and using the technology available to it to keep its deterrents strong and will continue to work with other countries. "It is our job to make sure, and the President will make sure, that the rest of the world understands that we will continue to play a leadership role in nonproliferation because it's manifestally in our national security interests," to do so. Lockhart blamed the Senate vote on "a toxic brew of reckless partisanship and dangerous isolationism." He said a small number of Republicans "have influenced and enacted their view over that of the majority of the Senate." He acknowledged that it's hard for Americans and the rest of the world to understand, "how a majority, a strong majority in the Senate, was for putting this vote off and why the vote took place." Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, in a Republican response to the President's news conference, said when the Senate voted down the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, it was not because of personalities or politics, but rather because of "the substance of the Treaty." Lott said the Treaty was rejected because it "was flawed, was not verifiable, and was not enforceable." No Senator was pressured to vote anything but their conscience on the ratification, he said. "Some of the most thoughtful Senators that have ever served in this body said this Treaty was not verifiable, that it was fundamentally flawed, and it should not be ratified," Lott said. The list of those, he said, included "Senators that really know a lot about the subject of nuclear weapons" including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Senator Richard Lugar, a senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Armed Services Committee chairman Senator John Warner of Virginia. (The Washington File is a product of the U.S. Department of State.)