President Bush goes to the United Nations, and all the Chosun Daily hears is "North Korea is a 'brutal regime' "!

Actually, I thought his speech was dead on, and I would support all his recommendations, particularly a UNSC seat for Japan and reforming the UN Human Rights Commission. And, actually, "brutal regime" is a polite insult. Obviously Michael Gerson is much needed.

Running down the article's summary (for wired South Koreans recovering from five days of holiday over-eating, alcohol consumption, games, housework, and more alcohol), the latest episode in the Dayr az-Zawr airstrike drama, is Washington's imposition of sanctions on a North Korean missile company (more info at KT). Is this all that comes from all the speculation about nukes the past few weeks?

So - what was attacked near Dayr az-Zawr?  It's possible it was North Korean "nuclear material" recently shipped to Syria, i.e., stuff to make radioactively "dirty" warheads, but nothing to make a real nuke with as the Norks don't have real nukes (see Why North Korea's Nuke Test Is Such Good News, October 2006).

Another possibility is it was to take out a stockpile of long-range Zilzal surface-to-surface missiles recently shipped from Iran for an attack on Israel.

A third is it was a hit on the stockpile of Saddam's chemical/bio weapons snuck out of Iraq and into Syria for safekeeping before the US invasion of April 2003.

But the identity of the target is not the story - for the primary point of the attack was not to destroy that target.  It was to shut down Syria's Russian air defense system during the attack.  Doing so made the attack an incredible success.

Syria is shamed and silent.  Iran is freaking out in panic.  Defenseless enemies are fun.

Someone needs to work on those headlines. And, stop taking off for five days. Or, shoving all that news into one report.