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SENA
ENATOR
JACK
REED
S
enator Jack Reed is the senior senator from Rhode Island
and a congressional leader of the Democratic Party
as Deputy Minority Whip. First elected in 1996, Senator
Reed is currently the Ranking Minority Member of the Emerging
Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, where he has responsibility for such issues
as global terrorism, weapons of mass destruction proliferation,
illegal drugs, and special operations programs. Previously, he
developed expertise on U.S. nuclear weapons policies as chair of
the Senate Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
A former Army Ranger and paratrooper, Senator Reed is an
outspoken proponent of addressing potential threats to U.S.
security through diplomacy and negotiations before resorting
to military force. He voted against granting President George
W. Bush the authority to take unilateral military action to disarm
Iraq, arguing that the United States should not act alone.
While voicing unconditional support for U.S. troops throughout the invasion and the continuing
occupation of Iraq, Reed has seriously challenged the Bush administration’s reasons for going to
war, its efforts to rally public support for the invasion, and its post-conflict planning and implementation.
In a July 31, 2003 speech, Reed said, “The intelligence used by the administration to justify
the war was selectively shaped to support their preconceived views of the threat posed by Saddam.”
He added, “These distortions were deliberate and calculated to sway opinion rather than to properly
inform it.” Reed described post-conflict planning as “woefully lacking.”
Senator Reed has also staked out positions at odds with other Bush administration national security
policies. He helped lead opposition last year to administration proposals to research new types of
nuclear weapons and has sharply criticized Pentagon plans to deploy the initial elements of a
missile defense system this fall. Reed warned that U.S. research into new nuclear weapons, which
he claims are not needed, would send the wrong message to the rest of the world about the utility
of nuclear weapons. Per the administration’s missile defense deployment plan, the senator has
stated, “The President’s decision to deploy an untested national missile defense system has more to
do with politics than effective military strategy.” Reed supports continued research into missile
defenses, particularly those designed to counter short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, but
contends that all systems should be thoroughly tested before fielded.
Meanwhile, Senator Reed has argued that the United States should do more to reduce potential
threats to U.S. security by expanding efforts with Russia to secure its nuclear material and engaging
rogue states. Although acknowledging the frustrations of dealing with countries that are “difficult
and erratic,” Reed claimed in May 2001, “engagement over the longer run makes some sense.”
Senator Reed recently wrote on the role of arms control in a January/February 2004 Arms Control
Today article with Senator Carl Levin (D-MI).
Before becoming a senator, Reed first served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Earlier, he won three terms to the Rhode Island State Senate, worked as a lawyer in private practice,
and attained the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army during eight years of service following
graduation from West Point.
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