North Korea's Slight of Hand

So much has been going on militarily in the world over the past few weeks that we could be forgiven for missing an obvious question in this ever more complex game of geo-political and military chess. Is N Korea drawing the U.S.'s attention away from the Middle East as Iran prepares itself to counter or provoke an attack from Israel?

Despite denials, Iran's Ahmadinejad and Kim Sung-il have been close buddies in sharing technology of late, particularly in the area of missile development. They both have uncannily similar missiles capabilities and received nuclear know how from Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan in 2004. As the dust settles from North Korea's latest nuclear detonation, U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates has warned North Korea against exporting nuclear know-how; he obviously had a reason for bringing it up. That horse however may have left the stable a long time ago.

If we draw all of the components of the news together we may well be watching history unfold, with a terrifyingly dubious outcome. Is it a co-incidence that Israel is immersing the nation into a state of emergency and combat readiness?

Lest you think that this theory is of little value let me remind you that both Iran and N. Korea have long distance missile capability - the U.S. and Europe are both within shooting distance. And there's the matter of the nuclear technology perched atop these babies.

America is close to being over its head militarily; desperately close. Our standing army is worn out - tired from years of war, their equipment worn also. U.S. Troops are busy in Afghanistan and Iraq and if the media is to be believed, Pakistan. U.S. attention is being focused on Pakistan lest their nukes threaten to fall into the hands of the Taliban. Any deviation from the current status of control by the Taliban there will require U.S. intervention to protect the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.

On the plus side, the U.S probably has the most combat ready and experienced troops in the world. That's what eight years of war and $2 trillion in expenditure gets us. We also have plenty of those war stoppers dispersed through the globe, deliverable in all shapes and sizes; nuclear weapons, humming, ready in their silos.

Should Israel attack Iran, or vice-versa, at a minimum, the U.S. will be playing a defensive role in containing Iran's intent. As nice as that sounds it is an unlikely scenario. On the other - perhaps the more realistic - end of the spectrum, the Middle East could erupt into a maelstrom of fire as Iran 'unleashes hell' on shipping, US installations and Israel. It could be a real Broadway production. We must remember that there is no downside for a people who live to die, the more heroically the better.

Should North Korea so much as wiggle a toe across the demarcation line with South Korea, the U.S. is committed to protecting South Korea against a million strong North Korean army backed by proven nuclear technology. A conflict of that size on its own could quickly escalate to unfathomable proportions.

Quite the quandary - close to someone uttering "check-mate."

And then there's Canada.