WBRZ - Baton Rouge

A senior Pentagon official is dismissing the significance of any Russian cheating on a new nuclear arms treaty.

James Miller, the Pentagon's leading authority on nuclear arms issues, told a Senate committee Tuesday that even large-scale Russian cheating would have no meaningful effect on U.S. security.

He said any effort by Russia to exceed the limits on warheads would not undermine U.S. nuclear superiority - in particular the ability of the United States to deal a devastating retaliatory blow.

Miller's statement drew the wrath of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who asked why the Obama administration bothered to negotiate the treaty if cheating doesn't matter.

The Senate is holding hearings on what the administration calls the New START, as it considers whether to ratify the pact.