The news of North Korea’s nuclear test has rather quickly fueled more political chatter about the 2006 elections. Will the issue chase Mark Foley off the front pages and several minutes into the newscasts? Will Republicans seize the opportunity to play up their perceived expertise on national security, perhaps prepping some new ads on the subject for their embattled candidates? Will Democrats blame President Bush again, this time arguing that he has failed to engage the North Koreans effectively due to other distractions?
I’m not saying that there isn’t an inherent partisan skew to any discussion of major news events just before any election, but let’s get real here. America and its allies have new evidence today of a threat to civilization and to our very lives. The North Koreans already supply Islamic totalitarians with conventional arms. The risk of Korean nuclear devices or expertise being transferred to our deadly enemies is real. It is not a political invention. It is not a partisan talking point. Examining the constellation of forces on the peninsula and elsewhere, the madman of Pyongyang has little reason to fear retaliation or feel deterred. He knows that our military options are, at best, problematic. He likely doesn’t care about the prospect of new sanctions, as they will affect his subject slaves but not his own household or power. In exchange for resources he needs, he will trade with terror states who want at least the nuclear leverage to demand American withdrawal and quiescence in the Middle East and Central Asia, while they seek to recreate an Islamic paradise they imagine existed more than a millennia ago. And some want not just this ability to threat and blackmail, but the ability to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of infidels in a single glorious act of submission to a vengeful God.
Is America serious about confronting this threat? Are we willing to do what it takes to rally our allies and destroy our enemies? Will we take whatever action is necessary, including military action, to prevent Iran from following North Korea’s lead? Do we have the fortitude and the wisdom to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda without tipping Pakistan, another nuclear state, into a dangerous civil war? Will we leave Iraq precipitously and embolden our adversaries to take their war into Europe and closer to our shores?
Some partisan Republicans see all these questions as prompts for partisan attack. I understand that. But what I would welcome with relief and gratitude would be strong leadership from the Democratic party — from prominent Democrats who, regardless of the outcome on Election Day, are going to play a key role in discussing, forming, and carrying out American policy. I’d like to see evidence that they understand the existential threat we face — and that it has nothing to do with fantasies about Rove fingering their library records or GOP leaders shielding pedophiles.