An independent panel appointed by the Defense Department issued warnings this week about a proposed multibillion-dollar missile defense system that should command the attention of President Clinton. The panel's recommendations suggest that there are more than a few bugs to be worked out. It's eminently sound advice, aimed at keeping billions of dollars from being squandered and at ensuring that a missile defense system, when deployed, will work. Long advocated by congressional conservatives and more recently embraced by the Clinton administration, the National Missile Defense system has a limited purpose. The new system would deal with the threat of a few missiles at a time.
Intelligence agencies think that threat has increased.
Last month saw the first successful intercept test of a prototype vehicle. Others are scheduled. A single successful test, while encouraging, leaves the total system a long way from proven. Technical obstacles remain, and politically imposed deadlines won't reduce the time and effort needed to make things work. No security would be achieved by deploying a missile system that could fail.