In his first public comments on Saturday's test failure, Cohen said he would take three or four more weeks to decide whether to recommend that President Clinton proceed with the project's fast-track schedule. His plane stopped at Elmendorf Air Force Base to refuel. Cohen said he would make that point to Chinese officials during his talks in Beijing.
China is strongly opposed to the program, as is Russia.
Both say it could lead to a renewed global arms race. Warner said Congress would conduct an in-depth analysis of the latest failure. Even if the interceptor had destroyed the incoming missile, Kucinich said in a letter, it would not have proved that the defender could distinguish between a real missile and a decoy. Critics of national missile defense and many in Congress on both sides of the issue said Saturday's test flop should convince the administration that the 2005 target date is too ambitious.