Ex-president Ronald Reagan鈥檚 defunct Star Wars programme may be due for
resurrection. Congress has just passed bills requiring the US to put a national
anti-ballistic missile defence system in place 鈥渁s soon as technologically
possible鈥�. If President Bill Clinton gives his approval to the bills, as is
expected, this will require changes in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM)
treaty, which restricts the deployment of such systems.
鈥淭he ABM treaty also provides, of course, for right of withdrawal with six
months鈥� notice if a party concludes it鈥檚 in its supreme national interests,鈥�
defence secretary William Cohen noted earlier this year.