Missile net may prove vital for negotiations

The antimissile net that the U.S. Defense Department has been considering may have an even better use than its design: ammunition.

Not in the traditional sense, but as ammunition in trade sanctions from China, used as a bargaining chip to gain concessions.

Secretary of State Albright's most recent attempts to win the concessions from the Chinese government went dismally. One official noted, however, that the system is of great concern to the Chinese, on whose periphery it would be built.

Some say the antimissile net would decrease the risk of attack from North Korea; critics, however, complain that the system is faulty and poorly suited for our purposes.

Should this be true, the United States should appear reticent about giving up the opportunity to build the defense system. This will provide use with the opportunity to use the development of the system as leverage for obtaining our goals.