Rep. Lummis: Now is Not the Time to Cut Our Nuclear Arsenal

“The US ability to deter some of the most dangerous people in the world” is being threatened by President Obama’s drive to unilaterally cut America’s nuclear deterrence force, according to Congressman Cynthia Lummis.

Lummis, who represents the state of Wyoming, talked with Secure Freedom Radio host Frank Gaffney on Tuesday about Obama’s stated desire to go past the requirements set in the New START Treaty.

“Unilateral disarmament is what President Obama is talking about,” said Lummis. “The New START Treaty placed, of course, limits on both the US and Russia to no more than 1550 warheads and no more than 700 deployed land-based ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers, and heavy bombers equipped to carry nuclear armaments. That’s our nuclear triad—the ICBMs, the submarine launched missiles, and heavy bombers.”

Her fear is that the 450 land-based ICBMS, divided evenly between Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, will be cut by anywhere from 50 to 150, which Lummis believes will severely weaken the deterrent effect of the US’s nuclear triad.

Considering the progress that has been made in building up and modernizing the Minuteman fleet, Lummis argues that cutting it now would not only not be cost-effective, but would be foolish when considering the international climate.

“This force is in the final stages of more than a decade’s long effort to replace and modernize critical missile components. That makes it the most cost effective way to maintain the Minuteman fleet over the next two decades in a way that will ensure that that deterrent effect is not eroded…This is the worst possible time, given the threats around the world and the ability now of two more decades to maintain this in an extremely cost effective manner, at a time when the US Congress is struggling with budgets and deficits.”

If the buildup by the Chinese and North Koreans doesn’t clue President Obama into the importance of maintaining a robust fleet, Lummis said, then at the very least “when you know that President Obama, visiting with Russian leaders, suggested that we go beyond New START Treaty and take down more nuclear missiles, and the Russians were extremely cool to the idea, you know that’s a crazy thought.”