The fight for ratification of the New START strategic arms control treaty got off to a feisty start with what Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), former chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called a "hyperbolic attack" by Massachusetts ex-governor Mitt Romney in a "misinformed" op-ed. Current Foreign Relations committee chair John Kerry responded with his own piece, followed by contributions by nearly all think tanks (for example, Brookings president Strobe Talbott and senior fellow Steven Pifer) and bloggers following the issue. The conventional wisdom is that the treaty will pass, given that opposition to the treaty is not really shared by all Republican senators (least of all, Sen. Lugar). Even if it does, though, few seem to be contemplating whether Russian Duma ratification is a foregone conclusion. Is it possible that the Duma would reject a treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate and backed by Russian President Medvedev? Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on New START can be found here.
