LONDON – “It was a famous victory” of large proportions – of that there can be no doubt. President Bill Clinton’s announcement that he was not going to be rushed into implementing a national anti-ballistic missile defence drew not only plaudits from Russia and China which were threatened by it, but from India, Britain and Germany, among many others, all of whom thought from their differing perspectives that it would upset the balance of power in pursuit of a purpose that was at best unproved, at worst ill-thought out and which had all the ingredients of a nasty back-fire when there were other ways of reaching the same end. One last word should be added before the issue leaves the front pages and awaits resurrection, hopefully in new form, under a new president- there is nothing wrong with anti-missile defence, if nuclear disarmament is moving apace. If nuclear weapons were reduced...
