It was a light remark, and perhaps unfortunate. On the face of it, it makes sense.
Offensive missiles are a deadly threat.
Defensive missiles designed to destroy offensive missiles will do only that. There can be no objection to them in the hands of a nation committed to peace, as the United States is. Yet there is something unnerving in Mr Downer's endorsement of the new direction in US foreign and defence policy in such simple terms. The implications of the Bush Administration's new policy are far more complicated and require a much more careful response. However real that threat, the missile defence system proposed as a response represents a shift from the course pursued by the previous administration under President Clinton.