Published: September 2, 2006
Unless something changes soon, by the end of President Bush’s second term North Korea will have produced enough plutonium for 10 or more nuclear weapons while Iran’s scientists will be close to mastering the skills needed to build their own.
That’s quite a legacy for a president sworn to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world’s most dangerous regimes.
Even if the United States were not tied down in Iraq, military action would be a disaster. Besides, American analysts don’t know where North Korea has stashed its plutonium nor what technology Iran might have hidden. Its huge centrifuge plant at Natanz is still nearly empty, and the more threatened Iran feels, the more reason it has to hide its program.
If Mr. Bush has any hope of avoiding this legacy, he will have to give up his dreams of regime change, persuade his battling inner circle he means it and direct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to do some real diplomatic horse trading — starting with a clear pledge that the United States will not try to overthrow their governments as long as they give up their nuclear ambitions.
The Grey Lady