Throwing Out the ABM Treaty. (Insider Report).(defense policy, United States)(Brief Article)

To the immense relief of millions of Americans, President Bush announced on December 13th that he would be pulling the United States out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. For nearly three decades, that misbegotten treaty has forbidden the deployment of a missile defense system aimed at protecting America from a nuclear attack by Russia or other potential enemies in the growing ranks of missile-wielding powers. "I have concluded the ABM treaty hinders our government's ability to develop ways to protect our people from future terrorist or rogue-state missile attacks," Mr. Bush said in a White House statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. decision to withdraw from the ABM treaty a "mistake."

While THE NEW AMERICAN has long advocated scrapping the disastrous ABM Treaty, we think it terribly unwise to begin rejoicing before the dust settles on this matter. The new ABM decision does not mean that a missile defense system will soon be deployed. There are a thousand opportunities for political opponents of missile defense to derail such a system before it can be actually ...