Why the North Korea deal isn't a sellout...

There have been some comparisons of the recent deal by the Bush Administration to the 1994 deal cut by Jimmy Carter on the Clinton Administration's watch. These comparisons fall flat, though, and there is one big reason: Missile defense.

I've covered this issue at Strategypage in the past (both the sea-based SM-3 and the land-based GBI). By the time the Bush Administration leaves office, we will have a system in place that will have neutralized China's strategic arsenal, to say nothing of North Korea's or Iran's. Theater missile defense systems also are mature, and ready to do their thing.

In 1994, we were drawing down, to the point that people were concerned about a hollowed-out force. In 2007, we have the means to stop any North Korean attack, and then retaliate in a manner of our choosing. This is the difference.