We must not allow the political wishes of nations with no global responsibilities to dictate our security policy, which protects us and much of the world. Just this week, I read that the Clinton Administration has finally admitted the need to renegotiate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. For years, my colleagues and I have called for this renegotiation because of the growing missile threat from rogue nations. But the U.S. has clung to the ABM treaty even though world events long ago eclipsed its value. The Clinton Administration's delayed withdrawal from the ABM treaty tells us two things.
Treaties remain unchanged while the world evolves, sometimes in dangerous ways.
And poorly designed treaties meant to protect us often turn into cages that limit our ability to properly defend ourselves. The Test Ban Treaty was similarly defective. I urge the President to go back to the international disarmament conference to renegotiate the Test Ban Treaty. If anything, the American negotiators there will be strengthened by the Senate's resolve not to accept a flawed treaty. They should negotiate for a treaty that preserves an ability to test at low level, until computer models are proven reliable.