Kim Jong Il challenges The One

National defense is not one of those areas best left to amateurs or those in need of “on the job training.”  Likewise, kid gloves to little to deter the appetites of tin-pot dictators.

“North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile towards Hawaii on American Independence Day, according to Japanese intelligence officials.

The missile, believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles, would be launched in early July from the Dongchang-ni site on the north-western coast of the secretive country.”

The Fourth of July — American Independence day — is the commonly cited date for this launch. Kim Jong Il seems to at least have a sense of irony, if nothing else.

“U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the additional defences around Hawaii consist of a ground-based mobile missile system and a radar system nearby.

Together they could shoot an incoming missile in mid air.

‘Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say… we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect Americans and American territory,’ Gates said today.”

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to  recall those self-same anti-missile systems were derided as “useless” and “wasteful” by Democrats during the election… funny thing, that.  Just as the US  anti-war protesters pretty much evaporated with the election of Barak Obama, Bush era “white elephant” missile defense is suddenly not so much of a “white elephant” any more…

Now, history is replete with examples of “civilized” powers “urging” the heads of totalitarian regimes to exercise restraint, much in the fashion that Barak Obama has with North Korea, among others.  A survey of the same histories indicate that polite words have little effect upon these regimes, save when those words were backed by something sturdier than more words.  Polite speeches and appeasement, barbeques and honeyed words — these things do nothing to deter dictators.

One wonders how much attention Barak paid in his history classes… better than he did in his economics classes, one would hope.