It provided as well the underpinning for a series of arms-reduction treaties, right up through the one in May in which Bush and Putin pledged to cut their long-range nuclear arsenals by two-thirds, to 1,700-2,200 warheads, over the next decade.
Republicans have made missile defense a high priority since 1983, when then president Ronald Reagan outlined an ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative that included space-based interceptors. It was ridiculed by critics as "Star Wars" and Republican efforts to bring it about withered in a succession of Democratic-controlled Congresses.
The world changed in 1998.
Then, India and Pakistan conducted back-to-back nuclear tests. North Korea tested a surprisingly sophisticated long-range missile. And evidence suggested Iran was working on a similar capability.
Former US president Bill Clinton, under pressure from Republicans, signed legislation in 1999 to deploy a limited missile defense when one was technologically feasible. Near the end of his term he deferred a decision on deployment to the next president.
Bush ran with it, notifying US allies and Russia early in his term that he intended to withdraw from the ABM Treaty and build a missile defense.
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