Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz thinks the White House should stop being so secretive and hand over a report to Congress which lays out the risks posed by Russia’s violations of a missile treaty.
In his letter to President Barack Obama, Cruz stated that if there are risks involved in Russia’s violation of the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, Congress needs to know in order to properly formulate foreign policy. Withholding the report, Cruz argued, is simply not acting in good faith.
The Department of State confirmed the violation last year in July, prompting the Russians to level a similar accusation at the U.S. All that’s publicly known is that Russia’s violation involves the testing of an R-500 cruise missile.
But it’s not just the R-500 that has Cruz concerned. Instead, he thinks there’s a possibility Russia has disguised intermediate missiles as intercontinental ballistic missiles. Furthermore, while formal declaration occurred in 2014, the U.S. has suspected Russia of noncompliance since 2008. But that information was not shared with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“If true, these would not only constitute clear violations of the INF Treaty, but present a material threat to the United States and our allies,” Cruz wrote. “This risk assessment report is necessary to determine a strategic response to Russia’s treaty violations, and I request that you lift your embargo on this report immediately.”
Earlier in August, several lawmakers, most notably GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, drew attention to the report’s existence and noted that the White House was blocking efforts to release the information. (RELATED: White House Hiding Pentagon Report On Russia’s Breach Of Nuclear Treaty)
The White House, on the other hand, may be keeping the report close because it reveals too much information about how it became aware of the violations. In other words, the White House is concerned about others finding out about valuable intelligence sources.
Cruz expects a response from Obama by Sept. 1.
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