13 Apr 1997 Forbes Lauches Radio Campaign Against Chemical Weapons Treaty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 13, 1997

AMERICANS FOR HOPE, GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY
LAUNCHES RADIO CAMPAIGN TO BLOCK PASSAGE OF
DANGEROUS CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

Steve Forbes urges treaty’s defeat on CBS’s “Face the Nation”

(Bedminster, New Jersey) Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of FORBES
magazine and Honorary Chairman of Americans for Hope, Growth and
Opportunity — a national issues advocacy organization today announced
a radio advertising campaign to urge Senate Republicans to vote against
ratification of the “dangerous and flawed” Chemical Weapons Convention.

Mr. Forbes explained his opposition to the treaty during an appearance on
the CBS program, “Face the Nation.” His comments echoed the content of
the radio advertisement, which begins Tuesday, April 15th, in Washington,
D.C. and in several key states around the country.

“Senate Republicans are right to block ratification of the Chemical
Weapons Convention,” the announcer states in the radio ad. “Verification
will be next to impossible. Clandestine violations will be extremely
difficult to detect, and rogue states like North Korea, Iraq, and Libya
have flatly refused to sign the treaty.”

The ad mentions the opposition of former Defense Secretaries Dick Cheney,
Casper Weinberger, Donald Rumsfeld and former U.N. Ambassador Jeane
Kirkpatrick to this international agreement.

“The Chemical Weapons Convention treaty is dangerous and flawed, and its
immediate and final defeat is a critical test of Republican leadership in
the United States Senate,” said Mr. Forbes. “The more the public learns
about this issue, the more they are concerned that Republicans would even
consider voting to ratify this assault on U.S. national security.”

** NOTE: Steve Forbes will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee in opposition to the Chemical Weapons Convention at 2:00 pm on
Tuesday, April 15th.

More information on AHGO’s effort to block ratification of the treaty —
including Forbes’s testimony — will soon be posted on AHGO’s web site:
http://www.ahgo.org

CONTACT: Joel Rosenberg, Communications Director, 703-925-9281 or [email protected]