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The Navy's system has different complications. A missile-killing warship would have to be close to the enemy-rocket launch, sitting in international waters just off the coast of North Korea, for example. But if the rocket blasted off too far inland--from deep inside China, Iran, Iraq or Russia, for example--the Navy interceptor would be unable to catch it. That shortcoming pleases Moscow and Beijing, which would be beyond the ship-based system's reach.
There are cracks in the Administration's support for missile defense. Contrary to public perception, the U.S. military is not gung-ho on the idea. Budget plans now floating inside the Pentagon call for boosting missile-defense spending about $1 billion, or 20%, a year to more than $5 billion annually. But that's not nearly enough to build Bush's system, which could top $200 billion. Military leaders fear their planes, tanks and ships would have greater utility against future threats than a missile shield. And Powell, reflecting his military background and his new post, is cooler to missile defense than the hawkish Rumsfeld.
For his part, Rummy seems assured that he has the President's ear. At a recent weekend retreat to Camp David in the Maryland mountains, when the President and his entourage were headed off for a movie in the grounds' comfortable, couch-lined theater, Rumsfeld skipped the flick and thereby a chance to buddy up to the President. He shocked younger Bush aides by returning to his small cabin to catch up on some paperwork. Only the truly confident Washington player would have made such a choice.
--With reporting by Jay Branegan, Massimo Calabresi, James Carney and Michael Duffy/Washington, Matthew Forney/Beijing, Paul Quinn-Judge/Moscow and Thomas Sancton/Paris