That's Clintonisque. Many eyewitnesses did not want to draw conclusions, they reported what they saw - but what many eyewitnesses described can be summrized by concluding that they saw a missile.
No, it can't. In fact, most are quoted as saying they thought it was a flare. Shoulder launched missiles leave a very distinctive corkscrew smoke trail. Larger missiles leave an even more obvious arcing smoke trail. It is all you usually see of the missile as the flame from the rocket motor is relatively small compared to the smoke trail it leaves. The smoke is exhaust from the rocket motor. When the motor burns out, there is no more smoke. Anyone who witnessed a "streak of light" with no smoke was not witnessing a missile.