iranian sputnik, north korea shenanigans

Iran today claimed to have put a satellite into orbit. Iran has a long history of faking technological accomplishments, but as of yet there's no reason to doubt this one. Missile technology is a lot like nuclear technology in that both are fundamentally dual-use. That is, they have commercial as well as military applications. Putting a satellite into orbit is an important milestone toward putting a warhead into orbit, for example, but satellites are just as important for communications, GPS, etc (also all dual-use).

Let us pause to contemplate what the strategic situation would look like if we were not exhausted and tied down by the Iraqi occupation. Then realize: it is past time for us to join the Europeans in bringing Iran into the fold. It is only a matter of time before they join the nuclear club; so let's spend that time giving them a lot more to lose. That means engaging them in a way that skips right past the Ayatollahs and is meaningful to their population: economic interdependence.

Meanwhile, North Korea prepares to mail a ballistic welcome card to Obama. All of North Korea's bluster in recent days is just that: bluster, intended to puff up their posture before the first round of negotiations with the Obama administration. That's why they have been rattling their saber at the South. Expect a new tack in those negotiations, not least of all because Christopher Hill, the chief American negotiator on the peninsula, has been reassigned to Iraq.