The New York Times said Bush's decision "seems premature" since the technology is still in its infancy, while The Wall Street Journal applauded the move, saying it puts "the final nail in the coffin of the Cold War 'MAD' doctrine of mutually assured destruction."

The Wall Street Journal said it was pleased Bush had made good his electoral promise to deploy Star Wars, which former president Ronald Reagan first envisioned in the mid 1980s.

"Somewhere the Gipper is smiling," the daily said referring to a nickname based on one of Reagan's Hollywood movies.

The Journal praised the quick moves of the Bush administration, from its December 2001 announced intention to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, to its actual withdrawal in June, to Tuesday's announcement.

"This is a remarkable trajectory, and shows how much the nation's strategists and scientists can accomplish when they put their minds to it (and when they are unencumbered by lawyers and diplomats enforcing an antique treaty)," the editorial said.

More remarkable still, the Journal added, was the diplomatic moves behind the decision. "In one year, we've moved from a world in which most US allies were grumbling about a 'dangerous arms race' to one in which they are eager to be part of a US-led missile defense system."

Like the Journal, the Times noted the general concern over the nuclear proclivity of North Korea, Iran and Iraq, but stressed that "the Pentagon does not yet have a missile defense technology reliable enough to protect American cities.

"Three of the last eight tests of the ground-based defensive system have failed, including one just last week," the Times said, adding that the billions of dollars that will be spent to field ground-based interceptors in Alaska by 2006 "would be better spent on testing and other defense needs."

Premature deployment of Star Wars, the daily said, "may also wed the Pentagon to an anti-missile system that becomes obsolete before it is ready for use."

"It would have made more sense to wait until a more fully tested and reliable technology was available," the Times editorial added.

SPACE.WIRE