WEST POINT, N.Y. — Al Gore accused rival George W. Bush on Saturday of threatening progress toward lasting peace by calling for unilateral arms cuts and a missile defense system, proposals the vice president said would "hinder, rather than help, arms control."
In a commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point--and, more pointedly, in remarks to reporters aboard Air Force Two--the presumed Democratic presidential nominee assailed Bush's new arms policy as a dangerous break from 40-plus years of strategic thinking.
Addressing graduates and their loved ones in the academy's sun-washed football stadium, Gore said "an approach that combines serious unilateral reductions with an attempt to build a massive defensive system would create instability and thus undermine our security."
Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker responded to Gore's address by criticizing him on the missile defense issue. "It's unfortunate that Vice President Gore feels that it's not important to protect America with a ballistic missile defense system," Tucker said.
Gore never named Bush in his West Point speech. And later, he insisted his remarks adhered to the long-standing policy that service academy speeches should be nonpolitical. The distinction, however, was easily lost.
Last week, Bush unveiled a defense proposal clearly targeted in Gore's speech. The presumptive GOP nominee called for deep cuts in the nation's nuclear arsenal--even if Russia fails to match them--along with deployment of an antiballistic missile system capable of protecting all 50 states from attack by rogue nations or accidental launches.
Along with Bush's recent proposal to partially privatize Social Security, arms control has emerged as a central distinction between the two candidates that could reverberate through the fall campaign.
The key difference in the arms control debate is the candidates' approach toward the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, which bans national missile defenses.
The Clinton administration is testing a limited defense system while trying to convince Russia to accept amendments to the ABM Treaty that would permit deployment, once the workable technology is developed. Bush, in contrast, has said he would abrogate the pact, if necessary, to build a more elaborate system of missile defenses.
