The Administration won Russia's coöperation on sanctions after it cancelled a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic and replaced it with a sea-based system; it won China's, as the cables show, after persuading the Saudis to guarantee the Chinese an undiminished supply of oil.

It would be wiser, as Mr. Bush suggests, to work with more feasible technologies, including ground- or sea-based systems that can disable a missile during the initial phase of flight when it is far easier to target than a warhead streaking through space.

At a Senate hearing today to consider his nomination as deputy secretary of defense, Paul D. Wolfowitz said the administration would seek a relaxation of the treaty to allow the United States to research several different forms of missile defense, like a sea-based system.

Mr. Perry has also expressed reservations about the system's being the best way to counter the threat of long-range missiles from North Korea and in Congressional testimony favored the sea-based system off North Korea.

But we must go further and seek across-the board cuts not only to make the proposal more attractive to the Soviet Union, but also becasue we simply do not need so many strategic weapons and do not want to channel the arms race into air-based and sea-based systems.

The United States has already used a similar sea-based system off El Salvador.

Still, Mr. Rumsfeld's offer to help the Europeans and other allies deploy defenses raised a number of tricky questions, such as which land-based, sea-based or space-based systems might be used.

That would allow the Pentagon to explore sea-based systems designed to shoot down missiles soon after they are launched, as well as refining the land-based approach pursued by the Clinton administration that is designed to intercept enemy warheads in mid-flight.

Despite these cuts, however, it was expected that the balance would shift sharply in favour of sea-based systems where the USA would retain overall superiority.

Such a sea-based system might work together with lasers and other devices in space to provide a limited but technologically sophisticated system with global reach and effectiveness.