Iraq and North Korea both have "weapons of mass destruction." In Iraq's case, Saddam has extensive chemical weapons and limited biological weapons. He is a few years away from developing nuclear warheads, although it is probably he can already build a "dirty" bomb. He can deliver these weapons by short-range ballistic warheads or artillary shells.

North Korea has some chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons already. It is very difficult to know how many they have, but they apparently have some of each. Their nuclear weapons are probably about as powerful as the ones used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They can deliver their weapons by short-range ballistic warheads, artillary shells, and long-range/intercontinental ballistic missiles. They also have ONE MILLION MEN stationed at their border, most of whom have been training for their entire lives. In contrast, the U.S. currently has 200,000 or so men in the Middle East. They have threatened that any hostile actions will be responded to with a "sea of fire," involving the total destruction of Seoul (sp?) and several other South Korean cities, followed by military invasion.

It will be easier to deal with North Korea once Iraq has been conclusively dealt with. Don't, however, assume that just because it is not front-page news that nothing is being done. The U.S., South Korea, Japan, and China are actively working behind the scenes for a peaceful resolution. The most likely scenario is that we bail North Korea out of imminent financial collapse and they put their war plans on hold for another 5 years.

If we fail to deal with Iraq and North Korea, it is likely that Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Iran will go nuclear within the next 5 years (some within months). Those countries will be followed by virtually every other country in the world within the next 15 years. If we don't deal with Iraq's biological and chemical weapons, you will see a similar expansion of those weapons and their re-introduction to warfare (which has been thankfully limited up til now).

-Biscuits