Following up on the May 10 address on "The Case for the CTBT" by Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller spoke on June 9 in Chicago on the importance of the treaty and on June 14 in Vienna to the CTBT Preparatory Commission.
In her Chicago speech, Gottemoeller said:
"The United States has not conducted a nuclear explosive test since 1992, in keeping with our moratorium on nuclear testing. Thus, as a practical matter, our policies and practices are consistent with the central prohibition of the Treaty. But without the ratification and entry into force of the Treaty, we cannot accrue all its benefits."
“Our recent experience working with the Senate to gain their advice and consent to ratification of the New START Treaty has prepared us well for what is expected to be a thorough and robust debate over the CTBT,” she said.
“In anticipation of the ratification effort, the Administration commissioned a number of reports, including an updated National Intelligence Estimate and a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report to assess the ability of the United States to monitor compliance with the Treaty and the ability of the United States to maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal in the absence of explosive nuclear testing. An unclassified version of the NAS report is expected to be released soon. These authoritative reports, together with others, will help to inform the Senate’s assessment of the CTBT,” Gottemoeller reported.
Gottemoeller’s remarks underscore that while we are quite some time away from the final push on the CTBT, the effort and the debate has begun.