America’s NATO allies refused yesterday to endorse the Bush administration’s plans for a missile defense system and compounded the snub by rejecting U.S. efforts to persuade them even to accept that the West faces a common threat from so-called rogue nations, like Iraq, Iran and Korea. NATO foreign ministers meeting in Budapest agreed only to continue discussions with Washington. A surprisingly sharp communiqué added that the allies “intend to pursue these consultations vigorously and welcomed the U.S. assurance that the views of allies will be taken into account as it considers its plans further. Furthermore, despite a recent diplomatic charm offensive by senior U.S. officials, the prevailing view among allies is that there is little evidence that a hugely expensive missile defense system would even work, and, they say, it could erode existing arms control agreements and lead to a new arms race.