Bush and Putin at the Table

When Russian President Vladimir V. Putin said last week that he would be open to modifying the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, it was an indication of how far the world has come since the end of the Cold War. While we still have concerns about the feasibility of a missile defense system, an agreement with Russia to amend the treaty would eliminate the greatest diplomatic and political obstacle to the limited testing of a missile defense.

The agreement with Putin could not have been reached but for the Bush administration’s willingness to make unilateral, significant cuts to America’s nuclear stockpile. This is an important step forward, both to reassure the Russians and to signal that the arms races of the Cold War are finally over.

But as Sept. 11 showed, ballistic missiles from rogue nations are far from our greatest national security threat. No interceptor missile could have protected the World Trade Center from American Airlines Flight 11, nor could a missile defense system fight the anthrax attacks that have plagued the country in the past weeks. Given the events of the past weeks, it seems much more likely that terrorists or rogue states would smuggle a weapon into America than launch it at Washington atop a missile.

Even testing such a complex system is extremely expensive, and more pressing needs than missile defense have not yet been met. The conflict in Afghanistan does not appear likely to end soon. The federal government is frantically trying to supply its Office of Homeland Security to identify and address America’s numerous vulnerabilities. The investigation into terrorists operating in America and into the ongoing anthrax infections are straining our law enforcement and intelligence agencies. To say the least, there is not a great deal of spare cash available to test a missile defense system, and it would be unwise to divert funds from any of these far more pressing needs.

We hope that the U.S. and Russia can cooperate to find a way to amend the ABM treaty and to quickly reduce our nuclear stockpiles. The alternative, that America unilaterally withdraw from the treaty, would render meaningless Bush’s claim that the U.S. and Russia should no longer view each other as adversaries. But right now, the most pressing threat to America is international terrorism, and national missile defense must not regain its traditional place as the sole object of Bush’s foreign policy.