He's right to do so, and President Clinton and Defense Secretary William Cohen should heed the advice. Congressional Republicans have urged deployment and tried to turn the system into a symbol of their party's commitment, vs. that of the Democrats, to national defense. The president, to neutralize and buy time on the issue, agreed last year to make a deployment decision this summer. The fear of at least some Democrats is that otherwise the Republicans might use the issue in the fall campaign. But it's highly unlikely the president will have sufficient information by summer to make a reliable judgment.
Proponents say enough already is known to make the costly decision.
But they're blowing smoke. A premature decision is not a measure of commitment to defense, and the president and Mr. Cohen should say so as they put the decision off.