An American war with North Korea may now be more certain than war with Iraq.

Even as US forces in the Middle East are arriving at their 250,000 goal required for an Iraqi invasion, the crisis on the Korean peninsula has risen to a degree of seriousness far beyond that which the general public is being made aware of.

Let's take a look at the situation in Asia: After letting the world know she posses nuclear weapons and a delivery system capable of striking California's west coast, North Korea has begun producing plutonium for the creation of more nuclear weapons.

Here's the problem: North Korea's economy is slowly and painfully imploding. With the decline of much needed foreign aid, North Korea's leaders are desperate to find a quick fix. The selling of weapons systems has already proven to be a good source of revenue. And, the most profitable weapons systems they could sell are nuclear.

To make matters worse, the view in Washington is diplomacy will not bring about a satisfactory end to the crisis this time. The reason is, it was while under a prior agreement negotiated by the Clinton administration that North Korean secretly produced the nuclear bombs she now possess. So, there is no good reason to believe North Korea will abide by a new agreement.

In other words, unless America is willing to risk a future mega attack on her homeland from either North Korea or one of her satisfied customers, America has no recourse but war. And, I don't believe leaving this door open for such a mega attack is a risk the current Bush administration is willing to take.

So, even as America is noisily massing her troops to invade Iraq, I believe she is quietly preparing to go to war with North Korean.

Stanley Kurtz may have expressed it best in his article in the National Review. He said, "We are at the beginning, not the end, of a terrible new age" (Read about it here).

Then Kurtz added, "We stand today on the brink of a war — with North Korea."