GROUND ZERO, New York City, Apr. 7-- Kim Jong Il shudders when he hears the words, "decapitation strikes."   The two words make him not want to move his nuclear production plan forward.  He likes the feel of his neck attached to his shoulders.
      Besides Kim Jong Il, the leader of Iran and other nations bordering on the razor's edge of Terrorism, are  glued to the CNN, Fox and MSNBC 24/7 coverage of the Iraqi War.

       They are watching what can happen to their country.  The words "decapitation strikes" also ring in their ears.
        Before the U.S. was forced into a unilateral actions against Iraq because of the Security Council's denial of support for military action against Iraq, there was an unwritten law that protected rogue states.  That law flimsily hid behind the word "sovereignty."  
        For North Korea, Iraq and Iran, this was comforting.  Not only did they feel safe the Security Council wouldn't authorize military action, they were also also confident that China, France, Germany and Russia would block any U.S. effort to rally support from other members of the Council.
        For a while, it seemed America had been Intimidated by the Security Council.   The Terrorist rogue nations didn't count on America breaking free of the U.N.'s attempts to emasculate its war on Terrorism.

        All safe havens for Terrorism come to a brutal end.   When the U.S. and Britain launched their unilateral attack in late March, the Terrorist safe house crumbled. 
         Now, Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, is facing the raw truth--that no matter what the U.N. Security Council says, it doesn't mean the U.S. is going to kow-tow to it.  
         That's good.
         Bullies like Kim Jong Il who defy world sanctions against development of nuclear and mass destruction weapons are nervous they are next on the list, slated for decapitation.
         If Iraq serves as an example of modern U.S. urban warfare, it validates the ability of the U.S. to surgically destroy not only major command communications in minutes, but also shows how the massive firepower of the U.S. destroys the will and resolve of loyal troops who face annihilation if they resist.

       In less than three weeks, U.S. forces have swept through Iraq and into the streets of Baghdad, entering Saddam Hussein's primary presidential palace, pulling down statues of him all over the country.   In some battles, the casualties have been 1,000 to 1, bad odds for any gambler.
        Kim Jong Il is a gambler.   He loves Las Vegas and all its glitter.  At heart, he's a playboy who uses the coffers of his nation as his golden goose.   Some claim his use of more than 50 percent of all national revenues for defense is his way of protecting himself from assassination and defending his tyrannical regime that denies North Koreans  basic comforts and forces large numbers to boil grass for food.
         But, as Iraq proves, no nation is strong enough to thwart a U.S. blitzkrieg assault.   Iraq, claiming the world's fourth largest army, has been impotent against American swiftness, accuracy and its supreme air power.   
         Worse, protestors who questioned America's right to go to war prior to the war's launch have shifted dramatically.   Those who support America's war efforts have risen to over 80 percent of the population, a reflection of American approval of use of force against rogue nations.
         That brings sweat to Kim Jong Il's brow.

        As it should any Terrorist nation who thinks world opinion and internal U.S. anti-war opinion can thwart U.S. intrusion into their country for the sheer purpose of removing one type of leadership for another.
          In Kim Jong Il's case, he can provoke the U.S. to attack him and remove him from power in one great thrust of military power, or, Kim Jong Il can start to bend and return to state of nuclear non-proliferation and keep his tyrannical grip on North Korea--at least, for the moment.
          In that sense, the Iraqi war has been a gleaming success.  It serves an example to the North Koreas and Iranians that the U.S. can and will attack any nation that defies it.  The U.S. has tasted blood.   It has sharpened its teeth on Iraq, learned how to do the job of attacking the next nation that defies it with even more precision, more effect.
          In the area of "rogue nation policing" no nation can compete with America, Britain and Australia.   America's swift deployment of ground forces, its superb air command, and its massive skill to coordinate logistics, including hauling around on its hips a radical press corps, should make Kim Jong Il and others like him very nervous.
         Yesterday, Kim Jong Il lashed out at the U.N. Security Council slated to meet this Wednesday to review the North Korean issue of expanding its nuclear production in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.   The Security Council wants North Korea to sit down with a multi-national panel representing nations such as Russia, China, Japan and South Korea to work out the details.   Kim, however, wants one-on-one talks with the U.S., claiming that any discussion with the Security Council means nothing unless the U.S. is in full agreement.
          In other words, the bully knows he can't bully-sheet the U.S., while he might the U.N. Security Council.   Those days are over.   The bully knows it.

          It is changing the face of Terrorism.
          Prior to Iraq, a terrorist nation counted on the slow engines of world opinion to favor the proliferation of Terror.   The idea no nation had the right to tear down one regime--no matter how cruel and indifferent--to replace it with another was honored by the United Nations with the same strength that Mafia bosses honor the pact not to kill one another.
         That legacy is now history.
          Any prior belief in the illegality or immorality of one nation to impose its will against another nation has evaporated.   France, Germany and Russia saw to that when they literally forced the U.S. to act unilaterally with Britain when the Security Council denied supporting military action against Iraq as the key enforcement teeth of Resolution 1441.
          Now, that's all moot.
          Kim Jong Il isn't looking at the paperwork or political pundits who are scuttling over ink and paper to define who was "right" or "wrong."   Kim Jong Il is looking at the burning presidential palaces in Baghdad, and the toppling of statues of Saddam Hussein being dragged through the streets.   He's still waiting for that loyal elite Republican Guard to attack the Americans and spill their blood into rivers of red, but that's not happened.
           It makes Kim Jong Il wonder how quickly his own special elite forces will crumble when the Tomahawk missiles start flying and leave him alone to be "decapitated" by U.S. Special Ops teams.
           Many thought he would use the war in Iraq as an opportune time to crank up his production of nuclear materials, but he hasn't.   He's looking down the barrel of the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Rifle.   He sees its crosshairs intersecting on his image.

        He sees a bully.   A Bully of Vigilance.    As a Bully of Terror, Kim isn't too happy about facing someone who has the ability to fight just like he does--in total defiance to all the rules and regulations.
           Terrorists have enjoyed the sluggish reaction, and often non-reaction, to any buildup of weapons or policy by the world community, especially the United Nations.   Now, the Terrorists know there is a Sentinel of Vigilance on the prowl.
           He carries with him the Courage, Conviction and Right Actions for the Children's Children's Children to act without world permission.   He doesn't have to wait for the consensus, or worry what others are going to think of him when he's done.
            Kim Jong Il is watching the U.S. start the process of installing an interim government into Iraq even before the last bomb has fallen.   He sees Iraq being scooped up and its wounds treated and healed by nation-builders who will race in with money and aid to bring the country's many factions into a working harmony.
           Kim Jong Il knows that could happen in North Korea virtually overnight.   If he was removed, the South would swallow up his dynasty just as West and East Berlin blended from two opposites into one equal.
            For dictators and tyrants like Kim Jong Il, the way the game is playing out in Iraq is disheartening.  In fact, it's utterly frustrating.   It seems the worst damage done to coalition forces has been accidents where friendly fire has reigned down on its own troops.
           Then there is Jessica Lynch.   Kim Jong Il, as well as other Terrorists, had hoped that al-Jazeera news and other anti-American propaganda would drive a huge wedge between the pro- and anti-war protestors inside America.   He hoped for an internal revolt similar to that of the Vietnam Era, but the fuel to fire such a cleavage has been diluted so that it hardly ignites.

          Pfc. Jessica Lynch has stolen the stage.  Americans, instead of wailing over the pictures of twisted and torn Iraqi bodies--some real, some made up--are cheering the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch.    They see how the Iraqis treated our prisoners, and how they brutalized the young 19-year-old.    Whatever measure of dissent they hoped for internally in America has been reversed and turned into rallies for, rather than blasts against, American military troops.
            Embedded journalists have helped, not hindered, the support of the public not only in America but around the world.   Riding on tanks, walking in sandstorms, interviewing troops, civilians and presenting their own opinions, the American press has "humanized" the war.   Instead of seeing American and British troops as war mongers, they are average men and women trying to win a war and get out.   Anyone who thinks America or British troops want to stay in Iraq any longer than necessary to win the war, quickly realize they want to go home.   The concept of imperialism or colonization evaporate.
             The war in Iraq is more than a war in the Middle East.  It is a signal to Terrorism, and to those who support Terrorism globally that their days are numbered.   If they attack or attempt to attack, they face the same fate as Saddam--decapitation.

            Decapitation is a strong word.  It is far more brutal than "neutralize" for "decapitation" means ending, eliminating, smashing, grinding, shredding any possibility of future life. 
              Kim Jong Il doesn't like the word "decapitation."   Neither do any of the Terrorists.  It "terrorizes" them.   They don't like being bullied.  
              Below, are two news releases from North Korea.   They give a flavor for the kind of language Kim Jong Il likes to issue against America.   It also sounds strikingly similar to anti-American protest chants.  
              But those words are falling short these days of their mark.   Instead of promoting the cause of Terrorists by demoting the cause of Vigilance, attacks on America are fueling support for it.
               The world is looking at America in different ways these days.  Those who saw it as an arrogant tyrant, as France and Germany tried to paint the U.S., are seeing it as a true nation of liberation, composed of people like Jessica Lynch willing to give their lives for others, and then return home.
               That image of a Warrior of Vigilance is more than Kim Jong Il can handle.
               He's scratching his head.
          

     He's not sure how to fight a nation of Vigilant Warriors, willing to die for the children of another nation.
               But, he's smart enough not to tempt the wrath of the U.S.

    That's why he's just watching today, and not trying to make hay when the U.S. has its eye on Iraq.   Kim Jong Il knows there is a Vigilant Eye left over for him.

 April 6--Jessica Lynch, America's 21st Century Sergeant York

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