Next week, President Clinton will go to Moscow. This is an historic meeting. The President should leave with the full support of the American people. An approach that combines serious unilateral reductions with an attempt to build a massive defensive system will create instability, and thus undermine our security. Nuclear unilateralism will hinder, rather than help, arms control.
Strategic stability can never be a one-way street.
That is why arms control and strategic modernization have to be built upon planned and negotiated agreements. The National Missile Defense system that the President will review this summer is intended to meet threats from proliferant states like North Korea while preserving strategic stability. It can co-exist with the ABM Treaty, if that treaty is adjusted. It can be compatible with further arms reductions. The new contours of this Global Age are another great force that will affect your careers.