'This is insane': Democrats and national security experts sound the alarm after Trump administration declares it's abandoning a critical treaty

AP

• The White House's abandonment of the Open Skies Treaty was widely condemned by Democratic lawmakers and national security experts.
• Retired US Air Force general and former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden described it as "insane."
• Countries that sign the treaty can conduct short-notice observational flights over other signatories to verify the status of each other's military forces, but the US has accused Russia of restricting its access.
• Some Republicans applauded the withdrawal and called it a"positive step to end America's dependence on dysfunctional and broken treaties."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The White House's move to abandon the Open Skies Treaty, an agreement with European allies and Russia, was widely condemned by Democratic lawmakers and national security experts on Thursday.

The State Department announced it would submit its notice of withdrawal, which starts a 6-month countdown until "the United States will no longer be a party" to the treaty with 34 countries that includes Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Netherlands and Norway. All of these countries can conduct short-notice observational flights over other signatories to verify the status of each other's miiltary forces, but the US has accused Russia of restricting its access.

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