Earlier today U.S. President Obama and Russian President Russian President Dmitry Medvedev  signed the START follow-on Treaty for nuclear arms reduction, but if is uncertain whether Congress will give their approval.

Nuclear arms experts Col. Richard Klass (USAF, ret.) and Dr. Ira Helfand, MD were at the University of Maine on Tuesday, speaking about the risk of a nuclear weapons attack, current nuclear weapons policy debates and treaties, and the role Maine Senators Snowe and Collins will have in the implementation of a nuclear security agenda for the twenty-first century.  Dr. Helfand is a co-Founder and Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and currently serves on their board of directors.  He also represents PSR on the Board of PSR’s global federation, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.

Colonel Richard L. Klass served in the U.S. Air Force for over 22 years, retiring in 1980, and he currently serves as Executive Director for the Veterans’ Alliance for Security and Democracy.   WERU’s John Greenman recorded the talk, and today we bring you excerpts.