The U.S. ambassador to NATO says Russia is illegally deploying missiles that could reach Europe, but her heated statement could also compromise the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Then-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison speaking to a crowd near NASA's Johnson Space Center in 2011.
In a speech in Brussels this week, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the former Texas senator who's now the U.S. ambassador to NATO, has threatened to "take out" a new class of Russian missiles. She says the missiles threaten both Europe and a landmark nuclear arms deal – 1987's Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. That deal banned a whole category of nuclear weapons, specifically ground-launched missiles capable of striking targets at distances between 310 and 3,100 miles. The treaty was a breakthrough after years of work at denuclearization.
Michael Mosser, who specializes in international relations at the University of Texas at Austin says the Russian missiles are problematic, but Hutchison's threat could also potentially delegitimize the treaty.