The announcement of a deal that calls for the disabling of the heart of North Korea's nuclear weapons establishment by the end of this year is a giant step forward for global non-proliferation efforts. As reported in an article by Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post, the accord calls for Pyongyang to "disable the 5 watt experimental reactor at Yongbyon, a fuel reprocessing plant, and a nuclear fuel rod facility." China's Xinhua news agency has made the text of the agreement available.

What does this all mean? Has the Bush administration had a brain transplant? Could this diplomatic success spur further efforts along these lines?

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Seymour Hersh's latest New Yorker article provides important new information on the state of Bush administration planning for possible military action against Iran.

The most important theme of the article, as evidenced in the title, "Shifting Targets," is the notion that the Bush crowd has given up on using the Iranian nuclear program as a rationale for war, and turned toward "marketing" military action on the argument that Iran is undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq and killing U.S. troops in the process. But even Hersh's grim assessment offers a few (admittedly small) bright spots for opponents of the war.

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Today's New York Times had an article by Thom Shanker on the continuing role of the United States as the world's top weapons supplier. The article is based on an annual report by the Congressional Research Service that assesses global arms sales, with a special emphasis on exports to the Third World.

As usual, the normal reasons given by the Bush administration for serving as arms merchant to the world pale in comparison with the negative consequences of U.S. transfers.

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