Clinton at the conference on the CTBT.

It’s been awhile. This week, Sec. of State Clinton lead the US delegation as we attended our first conference in 10 years on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And the international community took notice:

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mentioned Clinton while praising the United States, stating, “The participation of the United States led by Secretary of State Clinton for the first time demonstrates the commitment of the United States to work toward its ratification of the treaty.”

President Obama has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to seeking US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treay to ban nuclear test explosions. However, it will be a tough climb in the Senate, where the support of 67 Senators will be needed for ratification of the treaty. Why is the administration willing to work for this treaty? Clinton said it well:

On September 24, President Obama will be the first US president ever to chair a special meeting of the UN Security Council, which will focus on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament. The US has taken another important step in showing its commitment to addressing the nuclear weapons threat by drafting a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on all countries with nuclear weapons to disarm with the aim of getting the resolution approved. Politico obtained a draft of the text, which contains a lot of positive language that is still subject to change. The resolution calls for nations that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to begin negotiations to reduce their nuclear stockpiles and to negotiate “a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control, and calls on all other states to join in this endeavor.”

The most powerful nuclear device detonated by the US, Castle Bravo was a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb and its larger than expected fallout over the Marshall Islands forced their evacuation.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to ban nuclear explosions and finally end US testing has a number of merits. Ratification by the Senate would help contribute to preventing nuclear-armed states from perfecting newer and more deadly nuclear bombs and show America’s commitment to being a leading in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons to new states. All of this is in the best interest of American security.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Last week, we heard that President Obama will chair a special meeting of the UN Security Council in September on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Obama is pushing for a comprehensive plan to reduce the nuclear threat and move toward a nuclear weapons free world: negotiating a new START agreement with Russia to reduce both our nuclear weapons stockpiles, ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to ban nuclear testing, and strengthening non-proliferation efforts. But there are plenty who have a Stranglovian dedication to our nuclear weapons heritage, and are clamoring to defend it. Enter Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and the tug of war that took place during the Senate’s consideration of the FY2010 Defense Authorization bill.

President Kennedy signs the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963 (Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration)

This week marks the 64th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today also marks the 46th anniversary of the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The US was joined by the Soviet Union and Great Britain in signing the treaty that banned nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space, while still allowing underground nuclear weapons testing to continue. Right now we have an opportunity to finally close that gap and push for the Senate to ratify a treaty to ban all nuclear tests through the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.