Center Releases ‘Truth or Consequences’ Series, Selection of Commentary Providing Senate Key Facts on C.T.B.T.

(Washington, D.C.): As the Senate deliberates about whether to consent to the ratification of
the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a number of serious questions have arisen — many of
which have been answered by the Treaty’s proponents in ways that the Center for Security Policy
believes are inaccurate, misleading or both.

Among these important questions are the following:

• Is it possible to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent without realistic underground
  testing?

• Is the substantial opposition in the Senate to the CTBT rooted in politics, rather
  than in
  concerns about the Treaty’s substantive defects?

• What is the best professional military advice about the implications of this treaty for U.S.
  security?

• Can nations cheat by engaging in militarily significant testing without fear of being caught
  or
  punished?

• Is it accurate to describe the CTBT now before the Senate as a treaty that has enjoyed the
  support of every President since Dwight Eisenhower?

• Is President Bush responsible for imposing the present unilateral nuclear test moratorium?

• Can the existing stockpile be maintained indefinitely in a safe and reliable condition
  through
  the “remanufacture” of current weapon designs without nuclear testing?

• Should the support of key U.S. allies for the CTBT be dispositive?

In a series of papers released today, the Center for Security offers accurate answers to
these
questions, drawing from testimony provided at last week’s hearings in the Senate, from the
historical record and from open letters, published commentary and other materials. The Center
believes that these answers support — indeed, require — rejection of the present
Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty. These materials can be reviewed on the Center’s web site
(www.security-policy.org) or obtained in “hard-copy” form by contacting the Center.

The Center for Security Policy encourages all members of the U.S. Senate — and those they
represent — to familiarize themselves with this information before votes are cast on the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.