A More Dangerous Place

The world may be a more dangerous place today following the U.S. Senate’s untimely and unnecessary rejection of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty--a goal of American presidents for more than 40 years. The GOP leadership of the Senate must bear the responsibility for this decision, the first time the Senate has voted down an arms control pact.

The Republican leadership forced the vote Wednesday in spite of desperate efforts to postpone action, probably until the next Congress, in 2001. Why the rush? The reason appears to be partisan zeal to embarrass President Clinton, who signed the pact in 1996 and made its ratification a priority of his second term.

This could be a risky price to pay for political points. The danger is that would-be nuclear nations will read the vote as a diminishing American commitment to nuclear nonproliferation. They might also read the action as undermining the moral authority and leadership of the United States in this field. That would be a mistake. The president must make it clear that his administration will do whatever is in its power--a power not legally diminished by the vote--to discourage proliferation.

The timing was acutely unfortunate, coming the day after a military coup in Pakistan. Both Pakistan and India, its longtime foe, tested nuclear weapons last year and missiles this year, leading to fears of a nuclear conflagration on the subcontinent. What message will Pakistani generals take from the Senate’s treaty rejection? Might India now be more willing to risk a confrontation? That should not be the case, but no one can know for sure.

Treaty critics led by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the conservative chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued that the pact would commit the United States “in perpetuity” to an agreement that would not guarantee its ability to verify any size of nuclear test and could allow this country to fall behind in nuclear capability. That ignores the fact that the United States could withdraw from the compact any time that nuclear tests were needed to guarantee U.S. security.

Moreover, the treaty would not be fully operable until ratified by all 44 nations that now have some form of nuclear capability. So far, 26 have done so. Others, including China and Russia, looked to the U.S. to lead the way to final approval of a test ban treaty.

Legislatively, the treaty remains in the possession of the Senate and could be taken up again at any time. Americans should demand that Senate leaders recognize the magnitude of Wednesday’s decision and reverse it with a future vote for ratification.

To Take Action: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott: (202) 224-6253. Or go to www.latimes.com, click on Politics (under Breaking News) and scroll down to Get Involved.