US Knows Russia Violated Nuke Treaty: Report

Russia has not only violated a major nuclear arms treaty, but the US knows about it and doesn't seem willing to confront Moscow, according to a report in the Daily Beast. The story by Josh Rogin says two top White House officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind closed doors in 2012 that Russia had violated the 1987 INF Treaty. None other than John Kerry chaired that committee, just months before being named secretary of state. (Exactly what Russia did is unclear, but the story takes note of two missiles currently under development that might be the guilty parties.)

As a senator in that meeting, Kerry seemed ticked about Moscow's actions, but that hasn't translated into action by him on the matter as secretary of state. He hasn't informed NATO, for example. Now, 10 Republican senators want to force his hand, reports Rogin. They plan to amend the National Defense Authorization Act and require that the White House send Congress “a report on information and intelligence sharing with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and NATO countries on compliance issues related to the INF Treaty.” Meanwhile, while Russia denies any such violation, it also is moving toward opting out of the treaty altogether. Click for the full report. (More Russia stories.)