McCain wants U.S., Russia disarmament
In a speech at the University of Denver today, John McCain spoke of his willingness to work with Russia towards crafting legally binding limits on nuclear weapons. Such an accord would replace START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), which expires in 2009.
The New York Times called the speech a sign of McCain’s efforts to distance his own policies from those of President Bush, who has been unwilling to enter into such agreements. But the same story also mentioned McCain’s proposed expulsion of Russia from the Group of Eight industrialized countries* (other members: Great Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy), and questioned the subsequent likelihood of Moscow’s interest in bargaining with a President McCain.
*See why Nina Hachigian, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, thinks McCain’s proposal is a terrible one.