"The Senate had no choice but to reject the
[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty] explicitly
and unquestionably," Sen. Jesse Helms, North
Carolina Republican and chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee, writes in the
Wall Street Journal.
"Had we postponed the vote, under
customary international law, the U.S., as a
signatory nation, would have been bound by the
CTBT's terms. We had to vote to make clear
that the U.S. will not be legally bound by the
terms of this treaty," Mr. Helms said.
"We had to vote for another reason as well:
to make certain that the next administration will
be left free to establish its own nuclear
nonproliferation policies, unencumbered by the
failed policies of its predecessor. The new
president must have a free hand to re-establish
American credibility on nonproliferation
matters -- credibility not based on scraps of
paper, but on clear resolve, a credible nuclear
deterrent and real defenses against ballistic
missile attack."