Senate Democrats don’t really expect a ratification vote for the New START arms control agreement in the lame-duck session, but are continuing to campaign for ratification for partisan political reasons, said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) Thursday. “The people [voters] have spoken, and now trying to cram through an old agenda in a lame-duck session is the wrong thing to do,” he said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. “The best way to end proliferation,” he argued “is for people to know” that no matter how many ballistic missiles a potential enemy may have, “we can shoot them down” by developing a “missile defense system that would render nuclear weapons obsolete.” Pursuing New START without a commitment to a missile defense capable of negating “multiple missiles” tacitly accepts the “premise of mutually assured destruction,” something American citizens would reject, asserted DeMint. “If we’re committed to developing a missile defense umbrella . . . and rendering nuclear weapons obsolete, I believe that we could do it,” he said. He added, “That should be our goal in a very dangerous world.”
One Airman was killed and three others injured in a vehicle mishap at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., on June 29. Additionally, two first responder Airmen sustained injuries responding to the incident. All five injured Airmen have been transported to nearby medical facilities, according to a release from the base.