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Albright: Clinton Will Still Make Decision on NMD
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Sunday that despite the failure of the third test of the proposed National Missile Defense (NMD) system, President Bill Clinton will still make his decision on whether to begin building the system.
"I think the president will be making his decision later this Summer," Albright said, based on recommendations from her, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Sandy Berger, the national security adviser.
It would be "irresponsible" for the administration to put off the decision, Albright said on the ABC program "This Week."
"There are four criteria that the president is going to be looking at: the threat, the technology, the cost and what it does to overall American security," Albright said.
Early Saturday, a U.S. interceptor missile failed to hit a speeding target warhead in space in a 100-million-U.S.-dollar test of the system. The warhead-busting "kill vehicle" failed to separate from its booster rocket and passed harmlessly by the target missile.
The missile could weigh heavily in a decision that President Clinton will make on whether to begin building a new radar in Alaska for the NMD.
Berger said Saturday's failure does not necessarily mean the president will scrap the plan.
"Obviously, this does go to the question of technical feasibility or how far along the system is, but we need an assessment," he said on the CBS "Face The Nation" program Sunday.
The anti-missile system is designed to provide protection for all 50 U.S.states against ballistic missile attacks from other countries.
Arms control experts said the U.S. NMD, opposed by the international community, will not only spark a new arms race, but also threaten security and stimulate nuclear proliferation, instead of promoting security and stemming the spread of nuclear weapons.
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