On the recordMarch 6, 2012
There was good news on the national security front last week. North Korea, one of the most dangerous rogue nations on the Earth, far more dangerous than Iraq was when we invaded 9 years ago, has agreed to suspend nuclear weapons activity. Through careful diplomacy, the Obama administration has secured this concession by offering badly needed nutritional assistance to North Koreans. The North Korean regime has also consented to stop uranium enrichment, impose an important moratorium on long-range missile testing, and allow international weapons inspectors into the country for the first time in 3 years. Of course, we must remain cautious, and we must remain vigilant in our dealings with North Korea. But it's clear that peaceful negotiations and diplomacy, as opposed to saber rattling that we've seen much too often in the recent past, is advancing our national security interests and moving us closer to a future of peace and security. The President and Secretary Clinton deserve credit for this breakthrough. They have made nonproliferation and the securing of loose nuclear material top priorities. The New START Treaty represented a critical step in finally putting the Cold War behind us and increasing security cooperation between Russia and the United States.…
