Pro-Test Ban

President Bill Clinton

14 October: "In recent days, members of the Congressional majority have displayed a reckless partisanship that threatens America's economic well-being and, now, our national security. ... Even more troubling are the signs of a new isolationism among some of the opponents of the treaty. You see it in the refusal to pay our UN dues, you see it in the woefully inadequate budget for foreign affairs... You see it in the refusal to adopt our proposals to do our part to stem the tide of global warming. ... I think if we ever have a President and a Senate not for this test ban treaty then all bets are off, you'll see a lot of testing and they'll bail out on the NPT..."

Source: Clinton blasts Republicans for new isolationism, Reuters, 14 October.

14 October: "Let me say to India and Pakistan - do not take yesterday's vote as a sign that America doesn't care whether you resume testing and build up your nuclear arsenals. We do care, you should nit do it, it's not necessary, it will hurt your economy and endanger your people..."

Source: Clinton warns India, Pakistan against nuclear tests, Reuters, 14 October.

13 October: "I am very disappointed that the United States Senate voted not to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This agreement is critical to protecting the American people from the dangers of nuclear war. It is, therefore, well worth fighting for. And I assure you, the fight is far from over.

I want to say to our citizens, and to people all around the world, that the United States will stay true to our tradition of global leadership against the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The Senate has taken us on a detour. But America eventually always returns to the main road, and we will do so again. When all is said and done, the United States will ratify the test ban treaty.

Opponents of the treaty have offered no alternative, no other means of keeping countries around the world from developing nuclear arsenals and threatening our security. So we have to press on and do the right thing for our children's future. We will press on to strengthen the worldwide consensus in favor of the treaty.

The United States will continue, under my presidency, the policy we have observed since 1992 of not conducting nuclear tests. Russia, China, Britain and France have joined us in this moratorium. Britain and France have done the sensible thing and ratified this treaty. I hope not only they, but also Russia, China, will all, along with other countries, continue to refrain from nuclear testing. I also encourage strongly countries that have not yet signed or ratified this treaty to do so. And I will continue to press the case that this treaty is in the interest of the American people.

The test ban treaty will restrict the development of nuclear weapons worldwide at a time when America has an overwhelming military and technological advantage. It will give us the tools to strengthen our security, including the global network of sensors to detect nuclear tests, the opportunity to demand on-site inspections, and the means to mobilize the world against potential violators. All these things, the Republican majority in the Senate would gladly give away.

The senators who voted against the treaty did more than disregard these benefits. They turned aside the best advice - let me say this again - they turned aside the best advice of our top military leaders, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and four of his predecessors. They ignored the conclusion of 32 Nobel Prize winners in physics, and many other leading scientists, including the heads of our nuclear laboratories, that we can maintain a strong nuclear force without testing. They clearly disregarded the views of the American people who have consistently and strongly supported this treaty ever since it was first pursued by Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. The American people do not want to see unnecessary nuclear tests here or anywhere around the world.