The SORT Treaty (2002)
The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT), better known as the Moscow Treaty, is different from the START treaties, as it is primarily concerned with limiting nuclear warheads as opposed to limiting the delivery systems (ICBMs, SLBMs and Bombers) of those warheads. This may be because before the first START treaty the United States had a massive advantage in bomber strength and the Soviet Union had a massive advantage in ‘throw-weight’ capability. Throw-weight is a measure of the effective weight of ballistic missile payloads. In 1969 Soviet Union had triple the capacity of the United States in throw-weight and the U.S. had almost total dominance in bomber superiority (almost all Soviet bombers were unable to even reach U.S. airspace without in air refueling). By the time of the SORT treaty these numbers were achieving parity, so it became more important to address the warheads themselves.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/134435-reid-cites-gagas-meat-dress-lohans-rehab-in-start-treaty-push
“The proper exercise of diplomacy by the United States does not threaten our sovereignty. The Founding Fathers understood the value of diplomacy. They drafted the Constitution, in part, because they wanted the United States to be able to negotiate treaties with other nations. But they also understood that American foreign policy must ultimately be controlled by the American people.
That is why, for instance, the United States Senate must approve treaties that are negotiated by the President. That is how our diplomatic process works. But today, American sovereignty is threatened by the many treaties that seek to take power away from the nations that negotiate them. The solution is not to reject treaties or diplomacy: it is to return to the vision of the Founders, and to their belief that the American people have an inherent right of self-government, through their elected representatives, that cannot be extinguished by any treaty.”
President Obama’s New START creates an implementing body, called the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC), and gives it broad powers to promote the objectives of the treaty. These powers could include imposing additional restrictions on the U.S. missile defense program. This is an unacceptable cession of our national sovereignty. President Ronald Reagan walked away from Mikhail Gorbachev’s offer to eliminate nuclear weapons because he asked us to give up our missile defenses in return. No true conservative could support this treaty as it stands. – s groves
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110114/pl_nm/us_russia_usa_start