Star Wars for the 4th

Let me be clear ahead of time. If we end up shooting down a North Korean missile on the 4th of July, not only will that be super-cool, but I will give President Obama full credit.

He's said some silly things against missile defense in the past, but if he manages to demonstrate that the United States will not remain defenseless in the face of a ballistic missile threat, he will have greatly strengthened national security, which in turn will make the world a safer place.

Good sign from North Korea

Last week, I mentioned skepticism about North Korea's progress in giving up its nuclear program. However, this weekend we had a very public and very positive sign, as they demolished the most visible symbol of that program:

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — There hasn't yet been any official North Korean reaction to the destruction of the most visible symbol of its nuclear program, but a U.S. diplomat who witnessed it said Saturday that the big blast saddened government officials there.

A day after North Korea blew up the cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor complex to demonstrate its commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons, the State Department's top Koreas expert said he believed the event was an emotional loss for the Stalinist state.

Still early, but a concrete step in the right direction.

White House lifts sanctions on North Korea

The Heller Decision is getting a lot of our attention today, but we shouldn't miss a significant announcement concerning North Korea's quest for nuclear weapons:

Bush administration lifts North Korea sanctions

Jun 26, 9:34 AM (ET)

By DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Thursday he will lift key trade sanctions against North Korea and remove it from the U.S. terrorism blacklist, a remarkable turnaround in policy toward the communist regime he once branded as part of an "axis of evil."

The announcement came after North Korea handed over a long-awaited accounting of its nuclear work to Chinese officials on Thursday, fulfilling a key step in the denuclearization process.

But these documents aren't everything we had hoped for:

A senior U.S. official said the declaration contains detailed data on the amount of plutonium North Korea produced during each of several rounds of production at a now-shuttered plutonium reactor. It is expected to total about 37 kilograms of plutonium - enough to make about a half-dozen bombs.

However, the declaration, which covers nuclear production dating back to 1986, does not contain detailed information about North Korea's suspected program of developing weapons fueled by enriched uranium.

It also does not provide a complete accounting of how it allegedly helped Syria build what senior U.S. intelligence officials say was a secret nuclear reactor meant to make plutonium, which can be used to make high-yield nuclear weapons. Israeli jets bombed the structure in the remote eastern desert of Syria in September 2007.

"This seems like an awfully big carrot to be handing out for incomplete cooperation. If this is a first, positive step towards North Korea giving up its quest for nuclear blackmail, removing the sanctions and taking the country off the State Department's list of terrorist sponsors in worthwhile. I'm not convinced." -Grant Bosse