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ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE ANALYSIS OF THE MEMORANDUM ON ATTRIBUTION
The Memorandum on Attribution (MOA) consists of a Preamble and four Sections.
The MOA establishes the data base needed to record the following data:
The number of nuclear weapons for which each heavy bomber of a type and a
variant of a type equipped for nuclear weapons is actually equipped;
The aggregate number of bomber weapons counted against the limits established
in Article I of the Treaty;
The numbers and locations for heavy bombers reoriented to a conventional role
and for heavy bombers subsequently returned to a nuclear role;
The differences observable to national technical means of verification for
heavy bombers reoriented to a conventional role, and for heavy bombers reoriented
to a conventional role that are subsequently returned to a nuclear role, which
differentiate these two groups from each other and from heavy bombers of the same
type and variant with nuclear roles that have never been reoriented;
The number and location of ICBMs and SLBMs downloaded by amounts greater
than allowed by the START Treaty, or ICBMs and SLBMs downloaded without destruction
of the re-entry vehicle platform;
The number and location of heavy ICBM silos converted to carry single-RV ICBMs; and
The number of heavy ICBMs eliminated and remaining to be eliminated.
Only Treaty-related data that differ from the data in the START Memorandum of
Understanding are included in this Memorandum on Attribution; the Parties chose
this approach to avoid duplication.
Unlike past arms control treaties, such as the START Treaty and the INF Treaty, the
START II Treaty included almost no preliminary data at the time of signing. Instead, the Parties
agreed to exchange data 30 days after entry into force, with the data effective as of the date of
entry into force. This was done for four reasons. First, there was no immediate need for the data
since the limits of the START II Treaty will not take effect for seven years. Second, because
many data categories were not agreed until a few days before signature, exchange of preliminary
data at signature would have been impractical. Third, much of the data will not exist until specific
Treaty actions are taken. Finally, the data exchange associated with the START Treaty provides
much of the baseline information necessary to implement the START II Treaty.
The one exception to the foregoing is the number of nuclear weapons for which heavy
bombers are actually equipped. This data was exchanged effective as of the date of signature,
both because it could not be derived from the START Treaty data and because of the central
political importance of these data to the overall agreement.
SECTION I--NUMBER OF WARHEADS ATTRIBUTED TO DEPLOYED HEAVY
BOMBERS OTHER THAN HEAVY BOMBERS REORIENTED TO A
CONVENTIONAL ROLE
Section I sets forth the number of warheads for which deployed heavy bombers (other
than those reoriented to a conventional role) are actually equipped. Note that the number of
warheads for which deployed heavy bombers are actually equipped is not an "agreed" or
negotiated number, and the accuracy of the data provided is the responsibility of the Party owning
the given heavy bomber. (See the analysis of Article IV of the Treaty for a discussion of the
proper interpretation of the term "the number of warheads for which a heavy bomber is actually
equipped. )
In addition, this Section provides a record of the aggregate number of warheads attributed
to such heavy bombers. This aggregate number is derived by multiplying the number of deployed
heavy bombers of a given type and variant (data found in the Memorandum of Understanding to
the START Treaty) by the number of warheads for which such bombors are actually equipped.
As a legal matter, the inclusion of a summary of the provisions of Article IV on heavy
bomber warhead attribution is redundant and therefore adds no new obligations. The provisions
were included in the MOA at the request of Russia.
Under the START Treaty, older U.S. heavy bombers awaiting elimination at the Davis-
Monthan conversion or elimination facility are included in the Memorandum of Understanding,
since such bombers count against the START Treaty delivery vehicle and warhead totals. Since
these older bombers will be eliminated before the expiration of the seven-year reductions period,
when the first limits under START II must be reached, the number of nuclear weapons for which
they are actually equipped was not included in the
START II MOA.
The United States declared two different categories of B-52G heavy bombers under the
START Treaty: a B-52G equipped for long-range nuclear ALCMs and a B-52G equipped for
nuclear armaments other than long-range nuclear ALCMs. At the time of signature of the START
II Treaty, all B-52Gs equipped for long-range nuclear ALCMs had been removed from operational
service and were awaiting elimination at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base elimination facility.
Therefore, the United States listed only one variant-the B-52G--in the MOA. The United States
stated that it would include the nuclear weapons attributed to all B-52Gs in the aggregate number
of warheads attributed to heavy bombers to be provided 30 days after entry into force. The non-
operational B-52Gs at Davis-Monthan will only count at the START II attributed number of 12 only
until those heavy bombers are actually eliminated.
SECTION II--DATA ON HEAVY BOMBERS REORIENTED TO A CONVENTIONAL
ROLE AND HEAVY BOMBERS REORIENTED TO A CONVENTIONAL ROLE
THAT HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY BEEN RETURNED TO A NUCLEAR ROLE
Section II provides a location for recording the aggregate number of heavy bombers
reoriented to a conventional role and the bases at which they are located. These data are required
in support of paragraph 8 of Article IV of the Treaty, which limits the aggregate number of heavy
bombers reoriented to a conventional role to 100 and requires that they be based separately from
heavy bombers with a nuclear role.
In addition, this Section allows the recording of observable differences--those betweenheavy bombers reoriented to a conventional role and other heavy bombers of the same type or
variant with a nuclear role, and those between heavy bombers reoriented to a conventional role
that have subsequently been returned to a nuclear role and heavy bombers which remain
reoriented to a conventional role. In each case, each type or variant of a type of heavy bomber
need have only one difference. These distinctions are required by paragraphs 8 and 9 of Article IV
of the Treaty, respectively.
Since no heavy bombers have yet been reoriented to a conventional role, this Section is
unlikely to contain any data when the first data exchange occurs 30 days after entry into force of
the START II Treaty.
SECTION III--DATA ON DEPLOYED ICBM'S AND DEPLOYED SLBM'S TO
WHICH A REDUCED NUMBER OF WARHEADS IS ATTRIBUTED
Section III provides data on the numbers and locations of ICBMs and SLBMs downloaded
under the provisions of Article III of the Treaty. The format is identical to that of Section III to the
START Treaty Memorandum of Understanding; a separate listing in the Memorandum on
Attribution is required since the downloading rules under the Treaty differ from those under the
START Treaty.
SECTION IV--DATA ON ELIMINATED HEAVY ICBM'S AND CONVERTED SILO
LAUNCHERS OF HEAVY ICBM'S
Section IV provides data on the numbers and locations of heavy ICBM silos (in practice,
silo launchers for Russian SS-18 ICBMs) which have been converted pursuant to the Elimination
and Conversion Protocol. These data are required because of the limit of 90 such converted silos
established in subparagraph 3(b) of Article II. Since the START Treaty requires that geographic
coordinates not be released to the public, the locations referred to in this Section will be given by
use of the silo designators found in the Memorandum of Understanding to the START Treaty that
correspond to coordinate data in the Agreement on the Exchange of Geographic Coordinates and
Site Diagrams Relating to the Treaty.
Section IV also provides data on the number of heavy ICBMs (in practice, Russian SS-18
ICBMs) which remain deployed in Russia, remain non-deployed in Russia, or have been
eliminated. Such data are needed to measure progress toward the elimination of all heavy
ICBMs mandated by paragraph 6 of Article II. See the Article-by-Article Analysis of the Treaty text
for further discussion of heavy ICBMs located in Kazakhstan.
Although paragraph 6 of Article II of the Treaty requires the elimination of all launch
canisters for heavy ICBMs (including empty launch canisters), the Parties elected not to include a
separate listing for such canisters in the MOA. Launch canisters for heavy ICBMs will be
eliminated as will the heavy ICBMs that they contained.
Since the United States has no heavy ICBMs, all U.S. data in this Section will be zero.
The United States was included in this Section to meet the Russian request that the Treaty (and
thus the MOA) be phrased in a neutral fashion with respect to the rights and obligations of the two
Parties.
SECTION V--CHANGES
Section V requires each Party to notify the other of changes in the attribution and data
contained in this Memorandum. Unlike the START Treaty, the START II Treaty does not prescribe
in detail the specific content of notifications. Should the Parties wish to agree on specific content,
they can do so within the framework of the Bilateral Implementation Commission.
The concluding paragraphs note that, in signing the Memorandum, the Parties accept the
categories of data contaiued in the Memorandum. These paragraphs also provide that each Party
is responsible for the accuracy only of its own data.
A final provision, like that in each Protocol, provides that, pursuant to subparagraph 2(b)
of Article V of the Treaty, additional measures can be agreed upon by the Parties with respect to
the Memorandum to. improve the viability and effectiveness of the Treaty. The Parties agree that,
if changes need to be made in the Memorandum that do not affect substantive rights or
obligations under the Treaty, then such changes as are agreed upon shall be made within the framework of the Bilateral Implementation Commission (BIC), without resorting to the amendment procedures set forth in Article VII.
Pursuant to Article VI, the Memorandum on Attribution is deemed to be an integral part of the Treaty.
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