Two steps forward, two steps back.(United States missile defense action) From: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists | Date: July 1, 2001| Author: Isaacs, John | COPYRIGHT 2001 Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY, THE Bush administration's plans for missile defense appeared on fast-forward; by the end of the month, fast-track deployment was less certain.

On May 1, in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., President George W. Bush delivered his administration's first official pronouncement that the United States would proceed. In the absence of a U.S.-Soviet nuclear rivalry, he argued: "We need a new framework that allows us to bui...