The war in Iraq should not distract America from the dangers posed by other members of the Axis of Evil. North Korea, in particular, has not been deterred from its plans to assemble a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. Next month, a multi-agency report is expected to be released that will raise the official U.S. estimate of North Korea’s nuclear-warhead count from two to eight. London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates that North Korea’s current capability is to build four to eight nuclear weapons a year but that production will increase to as many as 20 per year by 2010. Washington and the world should not ignore this growing nuclear capacity.
The threat to American troops in Asia from North Korea is imminent; the threat to our land is pending. Pyongyang already has tested missiles that can reach U.S. troops in Japan and perhaps hit Hawaii — and the delivery systems are constantly being updated with the assistance of Red China. It will not be long before North Korea’s Communists will be able to hit the West Coast, if they don’t have the range already. Opponents of missile defense — especially congressional Democrats — complain that the technology is too expensive. Between now and 2009, Washington has allocated $53 billion to develop missile defense. In these dangerous times when rogue states are realizing their long-held dreams of nuclear arms, it is necessary to spend whatever it takes for protection from missile attack.
Those against missile defense also argue that the major threat to America comes from terrorists sneaking across our borders. That suggests a false choice. We do not have the luxury to defend against one or the other of these twin threats. We need to counter both.
There has been some good news on the defense front this week. On Tuesday, Gen. Ron Kadish, the Air Force officer in charge of U.S. missile defense, announced that 10 missile interceptors will be deployed by the end of the year that should be able to protect all of the United States from North Korean missiles. There are important tests scheduled over the next few months, but even if these trials fail, the nation must remain committed to the concept of knocking incoming nukes out of the sky.
Yesterday was North Korea Freedom Day at the U.S. Capitol. Today, there is no freedom in the gulag state, so it is helpful that protestors brought attention to human-rights atrocities there.
Even after last week’s train explosion that killed or injured at least 1,500 North Koreans, the government refused to open its borders to let in relief trucks from the South. This is not a surprise from a regime that has starved to death hundreds of thousands of its own people. While this is a tragedy, Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons put the Stalinist dictatorship of Kim Jong-il in a position to kill millions outside of its borders as well. The threat has to be stopped. The missile shield is promising but can only be considered a short-term approach. Eventually, North Korea will have to be disarmed.
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