START debate: 3 things nuclear arms treaty would do, 3 things it won't

On the grand scale of nuclear arms reduction, the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty President Obama signed with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last April – known in Washington shorthand as New START – is considered a modest document. Yet it has become a lightning rod for contentious debate over related issues like missile defense and US-Russia relations, which the treaty does not directly address.

The push is on for the Senate to ratify New START before the lame-duck session ends. The treaty is endorsed by former President George H.W. Bush (R), whose support may offset the suggestion that New START’s ratification would mainly be a foreign-policy boost to a Democratic president whom the Republicans just a month ago had on the ropes.

Here’s a look at three things New START would accomplish – and three things it would not.