In a move perceived as further evidence of an increasingly isolationist administration, US President George W. Bush declared in May that the US intended to develop a national missile defense system (NMD).
The Bush administration maintains that NMD would protect the US from rogue nations such as North Korea, Libya, Iraq and Iran.
China and Russia quickly voiced objections saying that the US was willfully renewing an arms race mentality while other critics argued that NMD is an unworkable fantasy and will be a catalyst for more nuclear brinkmanship.
China vowed to put more money into its own nuclear arsenals while Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that any NMD tests would be in violation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) signed jointly by the Soviet Union and the US in 1972.
The Bush administration countered by saying that ABM no longer reflected the realities of a Cold War world.
But the Sept. 11 attacks drastically changed Russia's relationship with the US as Putin sought to expand his political capital by offering Russian assistance in the US-led war on terrorism in exchange for a softer American line on rights abuses in Chechnya and eventual cuts in both the US and Russian nuclear arsenals.
As the war progressed, Bush and Putin strengthened their relationship and though the Bush administration signaled its firm intent on developing and testing NMD, Russia softened its objections.
On Dec.14 Bush announced that the US would unilaterally withdraw from the ABM treaty. In an unusual diplomatic move, Bush called Chinese President Jiang Zemin to assure him that the NMD initiative was not aimed at China.
For the moment, NMD testing hasn't raised substantial objections from Russia. But many countries view NMD as a sign of a militant America seeking to up the ante in an already dangerous and unpredictable world.
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