Bush's Foreign Policy Is An Unmitigated Disaster

It seems likely we'll be seeing North Korea with a functional nuclear bomb with the ability to project it into South Korea and Japan. It also seems likely that Iran will soon have similar capabilities. Juan Cole in Informed Comment has an interesting column today about the inevitability of an Iranian nuclear ability because no one can stop it.

Meanwhile, Friday the NYT  reported that US officials are closely monitoring evidence that North Korea may be preparing to test a nuclear bomb. The Agonist reports that one of their sources described as a Washington insider says that "the imminence of a test, is being dismissed in very strong terms by senior State Department and anonymous US intelligence officials."

Today the WaPo reports that China has rejected a US suggestion that it shut down it's pipeline that exports oil to North Korea. There reason is that it would damage the pipeline. The US was playing one of the few cards it has in attempting to stop North Korea from becoming an active nuclear power.  Left with an impotent hand, the NYT reports the U.S. has taken to warning North Korea that a nuclear test would be seen as "a provocative act" and Japan's foreign minister raised the possibility of requesting United Nations sanctions against the North.

The Korea Herald reports that US is bolstering it's Pacific Naval fleet to counter North Korean moves. The US only B-2 Stealth bomber has been deployed and their stay extended indefinitely at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. That includes more than 270 airmen of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron were deployed from the 509th Bomb Wing. In addition, twelve F-15E Strike Eagles arrived at Andersen in Guam recently on indefinite deployment. The fighter presence is supported by the New York Air National Guard's 107th Air Refueling Wing, which means the fighters can extend their combat activities through aerial refueling, extending their coverage to all of the East China Sea. The US is also deploying two newer Aegis equipped vessels to Japan to bring the number to eleven Aegis equipped vessels that can be quickly deployed to the East China Sea. Japan contributes four of those vessels. According to Globalsecurity.org, Aegis equipped vessels are "built to be employed in support of Carrier Battle Groups, Amphibious Assault Groups, as well as interdiction and escort missions, their mission is two-fold. First, to prevent the employment of weapons against friendly forces by destroying enemy missiles, aircraft, submarines and surface ships." They also are capable of  offensive actions against the enemy through the employment of long range anti-ship and land attack missiles, and through naval gunfire support.

While such announcement sound impressive, the fact is their deterrence does nothing to prevent North Korea from testing and building a capable nuclear capability. The truth is the US is impotent to respond to any world emergency that would call for a significant military response. The US has a strong air force, but Iraq has shown us it's limited capability to deter determined ground based action. Even so, cost of war on terror is effecting Air Force readiness, according to U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Paul Hester. Hester is concerned that losing flight time will critical pilot skills as those training hours are "core to the training that leads to readiness. Obviously when ... you start taking down specific training flights, you are, in fact, starting to eat away into readiness."

US ground based forces are committed to Iraq. The remaining forces readiness has been sacrificed to maintain minimum equipment requirements for forces deployed in Iraq.  We've knows for months that Army and Marine readiness is seriously compromised.

If Bush hadn't lied to the world about Iraq to carry out an unnecessary and ill-advised invasion in Iraq, it might have a much stronger hand to play with threats of military action. Right now the world knows that the US is tied down in Iraq, has a severe shortage of smart weapons, and has nothing to counter either Iran or North Korea on the ground.

Coupled with the growth of Jihadism world wide because of the botched "War on Terror", our National Security has to be in worse shape than for many years.