For the First Time in Half a Century, We Won't Have a Nuclear Treaty With Russia. Trump Is Totally Unprepared.

"Asked about the impending deadline in his New York Times interview last month, Trump replied, "If it expires, it expires. We'll do a better agreement," maybe one that brings in China-which has a growing nuclear arsenal-as a participant. If past is precedent, a new treaty would take at least a year to negotiate; if China takes part, something that has never happened before, it would take many years."

"It's worth recalling that when Trump scuttled the Iran nuclear deal back during his first term as president, he said that he-master of the "art of the deal"-would goad Tehran into accepting a " better " deal. This never happened. There is no reason to believe, especially given Washington's tense relations with both Moscow and Beijing, that he'll bring about a superior substitute for New START either."

New START, the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms-control treaty, faces expiration on Feb. 5 without apparent U.S. steps to extend or replace it. President Trump indicated willingness to let it lapse in favor of negotiating a better deal, possibly including China, but a new treaty would take at least a year and Chinese participation would lengthen talks considerably. Failure to renew the treaty risks reversing decades of arms-control reductions and could spur a renewed nuclear arms race. Past U.S. actions show promises of superior deals do not reliably produce replacements, given tense relations with Moscow and Beijing.

Read at Slate Magazine