These guys really are not missile scientists

And by "missile scientists" I mean smart.

We are worried about Russian tactical nuclear weapons which are believed to be increasingly deployed close to Eastern European NATO allies. So, the logical conclusion is to give away the store on strategic weapons first and then hope, what? The Russians will return the favor by giving us whatever we want on the tactical front? Maybe our people think the Russians are stupid. In which case our people most assuredly are stupid.

Administration officials say U.S. and Russian negotiators plan to turn their attention to tactical nuclear weapons, as well as larger strategic warheads that aren't actively deployed, as soon as New Start goes into force. "If we don't ratify Start, we're not going to be able to negotiate on tactical nuclear weapons," one said.

From, Russian Missiles Fuel U.S. Worries