U.S. allies are nervous about being left out of the missile protection plan, designed chiefly for the United States. Also, one congressional study predict ed that if deployment proceeds, China will increase its nuclear program tenfold and Russia will load its missiles with multiple warheads. For all of Washington's claims that the missile defense is aimed at back alley countries like Iraq or North Korea, Moscow isn't listening. It makes sense to lift rocket science out of super- heated politics. Buying time, as Clinton wants, could provide solutions.
More tests can give the South Pacific tests a chance to succeed or fail.
Negotiations can also clarify whether a suspicious China or Russia can be talked down from a widening buildup. The program bears a huge burden, and the odds weigh against it, for now. But Clinton's lame-duck final months aren't time enough to provide conclusive answers.