This attempt to introduce modest changes within the existing strategic paradigm has won few converts. Clinton's brand of limited missile defense appears to be too much for the Russians, who fear it is the start of something much larger that would threaten their strategic position. And it is too little for Republican advocates of missile defense, who fear being locked into a new framework that will be overly confining. Paradigm postponed Given these realities, President Clinton would be wise to defer any decision on missile defense in the final months of his presidency. Too little is known about various options to commit ourselves to one and reject others.
Paradigm shifts are by definition major undertakings.
Americans never would alter the way we fund an entitlement program or administer education without serious study and widespread debate. Maintaining stability in what remains a nuclear age would seem to warrant no less responsible an approach.