Yep, Jed. Iraq didn't managed to shoot down a US plane or destroy a US tank during the last Gulf War, and their military is substantially weaker now.

On the other hand, it seems very probable that North Korea could hit the left coast of the US -- probably not very accurately, but LA is an awfully big target. Even if not, they could do us some serious damage. After being included in "axis of evil" speeches for months, is it any wonder North Korea felt threatened? You have to give the man some credit for seeing through Bush's bullying rhetoric to the heart of the matter -- the US isn't going to "pre-emptively attack" a nation that can blacken our eye. Bad for elections.

Meanwhile, now everyone else knows it to. Lesson learned: in order to prevent an attack by the US, arm yourself to the teeth, preferably with nuclear weapons. Ouch.