Nuclear games

In a shockingly partisan vote on an issue in which partisanship has no place, the Senate Wednesday rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This blunder should have the American public wondering if nothing is above the gaining of political advantage. It should have the world wondering just how seriously the United States takes its leadership role.

Certainly, the White House must accept blame for belatedly forcing the treaty onto the Senate calendar, knowing full well it was unprepared to answer the opposition’s questions in the short amount of time allowed. The opposition — Senate Republican leadership — commited a far graver error by making it clear through its actions that it wanted to raise questions but had no interest in the answers.

There are serious questions, questions about compliance and verification, about whether accord-abiding nations would be frozen in place while rogue nations — North Korea, for example — armed themselves, about tracking the whereabouts of the former Soviet Union’s arsenal, about the uneasy nuclear diplomacy with China, about ending the brinksmanship between India and Pakistan. Those questions could have been answered in the time a delay in the Senate vote would have provided. Now, they will not.

Never, at least since the Senate rejected joining the League of Nations in 1920, has an issue of such importance to this country and to the world been treated in such a cavalier, unstatesmanlike manner. It is appalling that only four Republican senators — Gordon Smith of Oregon, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, James Jeffords of Vermont and John Chafee of Rhode Island — thought this treaty was important enough to warrant a delay.

Maine’s senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, did not distinguish themselves here. They favored a delay, but when it became clear the unanimous vote for a delay could not be had, they voted to reject the treaty.

Now, Democrats say they will make Republicans pay for this reckless act, they will make it a major campaign issue. The pique is understandable; it also is pointless. The rejection of this treaty is but the latest in a long line of issues that have been needlessly politicized. President Clinton has been a prime culprit in this politicization of everything; it may well take his exit from office to end it.

In her remarks on the floor, Sen. Snowe made many good points about the need for assurances on verification and on low-yield testing to ensure the readiness of America’s nuclear arsenal. She and other Republicans caught up in this no-win game of partisanship now say the treaty is not dead, it can be revived and, if the necessary concerns are addressed, eventually ratified. The question now is how vigorously the resucitation will be pursued.