RETHINKING THE INF TREATY [John Bolton]

RETHINKING THE INF TREATY [John Bolton]:

Recent advancements in missile technology by untrustworthy regimes like Iran and North Korea should prompt retooling of a key Cold War-era treaty, two leading arms control experts have argued.

The Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by the U.S. and USSR in 1988 "has far outlived its usefulness in its current form — so it should either be changed or thrown out," write former Undersecretary of State John Bolton and Assistant Secretary of State Paula DeSutter in an op-ed in the August 15th Wall Street Journal. The agreement successfully drew down Soviet and U.S. nuclear arsenals by outlawing ground-launched ballistic missiles between 500 and 5,500 kilometers in range.

But, Bolton and DeSutter point out, since the end of the Cold War "nations not covered by the treaty have been steadily increasing their missile capabilities, especially in the intermediate ranges." The result is a growing list of nations that threaten U.S. interests, allies and deployed forces.

So what can be done? "To reduce the threat from INF-range missiles," the authors say, "we must either expand the INF Treaty's membership or abrogate it entirely so that we can rebuild our own deterrent capabilities."..............