Gary L. Bauer
American Values
This week North Korea's Kim Jong Un rejected the ceasefire agreement with South Korea and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. While North Korea has nuclear bombs, most experts do not believe it has yet mastered the technology needed to put a warhead on a missile. It is tempting to ignore Kim's bluster, but it is dangerous to ignore delusional dictators.
In response to the threat, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack." That's reassuring, and I certainly hope Carney is correct. But I must have missed his thank you.
If the United States is capable of defending itself against ballistic missile attacks, it is in spite of the left's best efforts. God forbid, but if the day ever comes that when tens of thousands of Americans are saved from such an attack, it will happen largely because of the leadership of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative -- intended to save Americans from nuclear weapons -- was mercilessly mocked by our liberal elites as a "Star Wars fantasy." But the technology took off, leading to the Patriot missile batteries and the Iron Dome system that is protecting Israeli civilians today.
And George W. Bush had the courage to pull the United States out of a bad treaty that limited its potential. He also maintained funding for missile defense against fierce liberal opposition, and negotiated agreements to set up defensive systems to protect our European allies from Iran -- agreements that were later broken.
American Values
This week North Korea's Kim Jong Un rejected the ceasefire agreement with South Korea and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. While North Korea has nuclear bombs, most experts do not believe it has yet mastered the technology needed to put a warhead on a missile. It is tempting to ignore Kim's bluster, but it is dangerous to ignore delusional dictators.
In response to the threat, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack." That's reassuring, and I certainly hope Carney is correct. But I must have missed his thank you.
If the United States is capable of defending itself against ballistic missile attacks, it is in spite of the left's best efforts. God forbid, but if the day ever comes that when tens of thousands of Americans are saved from such an attack, it will happen largely because of the leadership of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative -- intended to save Americans from nuclear weapons -- was mercilessly mocked by our liberal elites as a "Star Wars fantasy." But the technology took off, leading to the Patriot missile batteries and the Iron Dome system that is protecting Israeli civilians today.
And George W. Bush had the courage to pull the United States out of a bad treaty that limited its potential. He also maintained funding for missile defense against fierce liberal opposition, and negotiated agreements to set up defensive systems to protect our European allies from Iran -- agreements that were later broken.
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