Syria Reactor Story a Diversion; But From What?

The US and Israel accused Syria on Thursday of building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korean help. There was a lot of innuendo in the press that the reactor was intended for nuclear weapons production. But AFP notes:

' They said US intelligence had "high confidence" that the structure bombed by the Israelis was a nuclear reactor, "medium confidence" that the North Koreans were involved in building it, and "low confidence" that plutonium from it was for nuclear weapons.

Hey! Don’t you think we should talk it out. We may be spread a bit thin for this.

The Pentagon has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's nuclear program and is bolstering nuclear forces in Asia, said defense officials familiar with the highly secret process.

Remember 2004, when OBL came out with a tape just before the vote, and all the pundits agreed that this would help Bush--as if OBL wouldn't have been able to figure that out?

Looks like Kim Jong Il is trying to help Bush out this year. AP:

South Korea - Satellite images indicate
North Korea appears to be getting ready for a second nuclear test, officials said Tuesday, as the defiant communist regime held huge rallies and proclaimed that U.N. sanctions amount to a declaration of war.

Now, why would Kim Jong Il want Bush to win?

This morning's headline goes to Amy Klobuchar, who successfully boxed rival candidate, Mark Kennedy roundly about the head and shoulders. And boy, did he ever ask for it.

First, as our wee interlocutor, little Russ, intoned, the serious matter of North Korea, which was discussed with only one guest, John Bolton, our as yet unconfirmed ambassador to the UN.

* It will give Bush a bounce in the polls \n* It changes the subject from closeted gay Republican pedophiles to crazed authoritarians with nuclear weapons\n* It will enable Bush, when not fund-raising, to show potency and firmness, especially when wearing a moon suit at photo-ops\n* It will energize the base, who believe that Kim Il Sung, because he is not the "Reverend" Moon, is a Satanic force \n* Because EVERYTHING is ALWAYS good for the Republicans!\n

AP:

South Korea -
North Korea said Tuesday that it will conduct a nuclear test to bolster its self-defense capability amid what it calls increasing U.S. hostility toward the communist regime.

Thank God we've Moustache Man at the UN...

Can Israel Survive?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Russert sets the context - Crises in the Middle East, what should the US do about the Axis of Evil, (gee, I thought we were doing the Axis of Evil since 9/11, that would make it about five years of doing, Tim)...

Before Biden and Gingrich, (author of yet another new book, "Winning the Future"), are allowed to go at it and each other, we are informed via Richard Engel, from Beirut, and Martin Fletcher, from Haifa, of what happened overnight; suffice to say it's all bad news, except if you are William Kristol, or, as it turns out, Newt Gingrich.

As a resident of Bush's Amurka, I have exactly no moral high ground from which to bitch about any nation taking up the projects of (re)armament or "defensive" preemptive strikes. I'm also a poor student of Japanese and Asian history. But I've been told that the "whole point" of the NK posturing is to create circumstances in which Japan can reenter the world stage as a military power by people I think would be in at least a partial position to know. Further, I'm not at all sanguine about a lot of the language and posturing coming from an increasingly frustrated and stagnant Japanese society and leadership. This is the age of the waking Chinese Dragon, and it's logical that Japan, given their history, would seek some ways in which to counter that, even if said counter is a really, really stupid idea:

North Korea again, with Nick Burns filling in for Secretary Rice.

Chris Wallace got right to the point; are Russia and China going to back us on sanctions against North Korea? Wallace wanted a yes or no answer.

He didn't get it.

North Korea got the star treatment on NBC today - pictures of marching soldiers, of missiles blasting from launch pads, Kim Jung Il being Kim Jung Il, with Timmeh's voiceover asking, can this man be stopped?

Over hyped? Definitely.

Over half the show was spent with Russert badgering Ambassador Nick Burns, the number three guy at State, to almost no avail.

Interesting to consider why Condi didn't deem it important enough for her to be on any of the Sunday programs. Trying to minimize? Definitely.

The headline for today's installment would have to be something like: ...

"Lively Political Discourse Dead In America, Democratic Governance, The Life Of The Mind To Follow, Sooner Rather Than Later."

Okay, so I'm not a headline writer.

The "hour's," (more like half that time, deducting commercials and George's feel-good celebrity segment at the show's end), most remarkable aspect was the evidence through-out of the ease and speed with which George Stephanopoulos has made the transition to gasbag extraordinaire, which is now total and complete: Could he care less about facts? Could he care less about clarity? Could he care less about being fair to the center left? Could he be more a creature of beltway buzz and conventional wisdom? Could he care less about journalistic integrity?

No, No, No, No, and No. He could not.

Details below.

As a sign of how little Bush cares about North Korea, he couldn't even be bothered to send Condi on the talk shows. Instead we got Undersecretary of State Nick Burns, via remote.

Ol' Crankypants: Why did NK fire missiles on the Fourth of July?

Shorter version of this post - You can't.

You can't live blog this man - Superman couldn't live blog this man - this man lies faster than a bullet speeds.

I'm sitting here listening to the President's press conference, being broadcast in full, on cable and NPR, from Chicago.

Every word I am hearing come from his mouth is a lie, and that includes, as Mary McCarthy once famously said, the "ands," the "thes," and the "buts."

And I came in when it had already begun.

lt="49MissileDefenseBnDUI" /> The eagle, symbol of power and vigilance, on the Arctic Region of the globe represents our presence in Alaska to provide an active defense against ballistic missiles. The bald eagle also exemplifies our principles of freedom and echoes the Battalion’s motto of defending the homeland. The polestar signifies guiding principles and the northern latitudes. The lightning flashes represent the detection, identification and elimination of ballistic missiles launched at the United States and its allies.
Courtesy of DOD

Well, by gum, you ought to.

The Washington Times has the good news, in what appears to be an exclusive:

North Korean Threat Activates Shield

The Pentagon activated its new U.S. ground-based interceptor missile defense system, and officials announced yesterday that any long-range missile launch by North Korea would be considered a "provocative act." [...]

snip

"U.S. Northern Command continues to monitor the situation, and we are prepared to defend the country in any way necessary," said spokesman Michael Kucharek."

The U.S. missile defense system includes 11 long-range interceptor missiles, including nine deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The system was switched from test to operational mode within the past two weeks, the officials said.

One senior Bush administration official told The Washington Times that an option being considered would be to shoot down the Taepodong missile with responding interceptors.

But does it work?