Elections Blog

The bad news is very bad, indeed, and the Washington Post is right on the money:
THE MOST critical question following North Korea’s reported nuclear test is whether anything can be done to stop other states or terrorist groups from acquiring such weapons in coming years. Can North Korea be prevented from exporting its nukes? Is [...]

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I don’t agree with everything Sam Nunn says here, but I respect the man, and I respect the fact that he is doing what he can to stop the nuclear menace:
North Korea is a crisis in itself, but it is also a sign of a growing worldwide nuclear threat. More nations are acquiring and seeking to [...]

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Thank God that at least some action is being taken:
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously agreed to sanctions against North Korea in response to the country’s claimed nuclear test.
The vote was scheduled soon after negotiators agreed on the sticking point of cargo inspections, the language over which China had expressed some concerns earlier.
Rather than [...]

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It is with a heavy heart and a tightening of the chest that I note that today’s scheduled UN vote on North Korean sanction is in danger of being torpedoed by Russia and China:
Despite winning key concessions, Russia and China raised new objections that could delay a vote Saturday on a U.N. Security Council resolution [...]

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Sources are leaking results that indicate no radiation from the North Korean explosion last weekend:
Results from an initial air sampling after North Korea’s announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a large nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said Friday.
The test results do not necessarily mean the [...]

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…looks like it may yet pass without incident.  Through the Chinese, the North Koreans are hinting that if the U.S. wants to give in to blackmail, they’ll find a welcoming talking partner, while Claudia Rosett notes the latest scarifying warning from the UN…

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Last night, I lamented the fact that the really important things like events in Baghdad have been swallowed up by the Mark Foley story (though I feel vindicated in saying that the story had peaked - I think that’s proven to be the case). Daniel Henninger is of a like mind:
It’s hard to believe [...]

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Unfortunately, there’s not a Mark Foley angle that I can see, so it probably won’t get any play, but there is a small matter that someone in Washington might want to consider:
North Korea, citing American belligerence and pressure, said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued the comment in a statement [...]

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Graham Allison is the the director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.  I mention this up front because what he has to say is so alarming that you might think him a kook.  I wish that was the case, because his message is terrifying, and [...]

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Thomas Sowell:
It is hard to think of a time when a nation — and a whole civilization — has drifted more futilely toward a bigger catastrophe than that looming over the United States and western civilization today.
Nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran and North Korea mean that it is only a matter of [...]

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