Arms Control Masquerade

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The coming days are likely to produce paroxysms in diplomatic circles, the media and advocacy groups over the need to preserve and enhance various international arms control agreements. Specifically, with the opening yesterday of the quadrennial Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York, the United States faces a multiweek thrash over its failure to do more to disarm.

Unfortunately, the Clinton-Gore administration's response to such criticism has generally been to grovel, apologize and pander. It refuses to make the case (and presumably does not believe) that the world is a safer place thanks to America's pre-eminent military strength. It recoils from acknowledging that arms control is utterly failing to keep dangerous nations from acquiring deadly weapons of mass destruction - and the means to deliver them against the United States and/or its friends and forces overseas.

Instead, the administration proposes to redouble its efforts …