The Bush administration last week declared its intent to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, calling the pact an obsolete agreement that stands in the way of US efforts to develop and deploy a missile defense system.
The timing of the decision is peculiar. Why risk alienating Russia, China and major US allies in Europe in pursuit of an unproven missile defense system? Why abandon the treaty now when experts have indicated that the current missile defense testing program could go on for years before running up against limits imposed by the agreement?