The issue? Whether the president should greenlight plans for limited U.S. missile defenses. The White House has promised a decision by June, and pro-defenses GOP leaders in the Senate are determined to make him stick to this timetable. But even limited defenses would require revisions in the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, changes which Clinton insists must be negotiated with Moscow.
Russia, however, has refused to play ball. And last week following the Senate vote against the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Moscow and Beijing raised the stakes, drawing up a U.N. resolution demanding U.S. compliance with the ABM treaty. “They’re drawing a line in the sand,” says a top Clinton official. “If we go ahead with a missile-defense program now, they will have to respond.” Their likely answer: they’ll resume nuclear testing, says the official.
The situation has put Vice President Al Gore in a tough spot. He has pushed for negotiations with Moscow and backs the CTBT. But U.S. public opinion favors building missile defenses, whether Moscow agrees or not, as does GOP presidential contender George W. Bush. “The veep could see years of arms-control work go down the tubes on this,” says the Clinton aide.
