The Stuff of Which W.’ IS Made

(Washington, D.C.): In an op.ed. article published as part of the Investor’s Business Daily “Brain Trust” featured columns, Center for Security Policy President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. noted the strong similarities between the circumstances under which Ronald Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik in 1986 and those surrounding George W. Bush’s imminent “summit” meeting with Gorbachev’s successor (in every sense of the word), Vladimir Putin. Noting the pressures each man came under to abandon the idea of building defenses against ballistic missile attack from the Kremlin, allied leaders, Congressional Democrats and even some of their own subordinates, Mr. Gaffney observed: “We will know shortly of what Mr. Bush is made. Let us all hope it is the stuff of Ronald Reagan.”

The early returns are now in. In remarks at a joint press conference yesterday with Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar Lopez, Mr. Bush made the following comments:

• “Part of the problem with the ABM Treaty is that it prevents a full exploration of possibility. We’re bound by a treaty signed in 1972 that prohibits the United States from investigating all possibilities as to how to intercept missiles. For example, the technology of intercept-on-launch is a technology that we must more fully explore in order to make sure that we have the defensive capabilities necessary to prevent what I call blackmail.”
• “The ABM Treaty is a relic of the past. It prevents freedom- loving people from exploring the future, and that’s why we’ve got to lay it aside, and that’s why we’ve got to have the framework, the discussions necessary to explain to our friends and allies, as well as Russia, that our intent is to make the world more peaceful, not more dangerous. Our intent is to bring stability into the world, and freedom-loving people must recognize the true threats that face democracies in the 21st century. The days of the Cold War have ended, and so must the Cold War mentality, as far as I’m concerned.”
• “I look forward to making my case, as I did today over lunch, about missile defense. It starts with explaining to Russia and our European friends and allies that Russia is not the enemy of the United States; that the attitude of mutually assured destruction is a relic of the Cold War; and that we must address the new threats of the 21st century if we’re to have a peaceful continent and a peaceful world. Those new threats are terrorism, based upon the capacity of some countries to develop weapons of mass destruction and therefore hold the United States and our friends hostage. It is so important we think differently in order to address those threats.”
• “I believe that people are interested in our opinion. I believe Mr. Putin is interested in our opinions. I know the president of Spain was willing to listen as to why it’s important to think differently in order to keep the peace. The ABM Treaty prevents our nation and other freedom-loving nations from exploring opportunities to be able to say to those who would hold freedom-loving peoples hostage that we’re not going to let you do so. And so I look forward to consulting and continue the consultations that have already begun.”

Importantly, President Aznar responded favorably to Mr. Bush’s unwavering commitment to missile defense, declaring:

“I want to say that according to my opinion, it’s absolutely understandable for any president to be concerned about the security of his citizens, and in this particular case, obviously, there is a concern that’s shared as a result of the collective security that we share. I sincerely believe that no one should be surprised that when we pose issues based on overcoming the past of the Cold War, policies going beyond the Cold War, presentations that go beyond the historical conflict of the Cold War, and we talk about new threats, new challenges, new problems, new challenges in general, again, in security we come to new initiatives. So far these initiatives have all been virtual in the sense that they were based on an offensive deterrent factor.”

“What I’m surprised by is the fact that there are people who from the start disqualified this initiative, and that way they are also disqualifying the deterrence that has existed so far, and probably they would also disqualify any other kind of initiative. But what we’re dealing with here is an attempt to provide greater security for everyone. And from that point of view, that initiative to share and discuss and dialogue and reach common ground with the president of the United States is something that I greatly appreciate.”

The Bottom Line

It can only be hoped that President Bush will be equally clear about his determination to defend America, its forces overseas and its allies in the days ahead. If he is, and if he follows his explanations with an announcement that the United States will promptly begin the deployment of such missile defenses as it can field — starting with adaptations to the Navy’s Aegis fleet air defense system — Mr. Bush will indeed prove to have the right stuff, the sort Ronald Reagan displayed to such good and lasting effect.