The 'SS United States.

Surprisingly this new policy exempts most non-nuclear states from the threat of nuclear retaliation by the USA in time of war. In other words, should a non-nuclear power strike the American heartland with a chemical or biological weapon, this policy significantly reduces our military response options. On the other hand, the updated posture labels both Iran and North Korea “outliers” rather than the term “rogue states” as used both during the Clinton and Bush Administrations.

The Oxford dictionary defines the word “outliers” as “a person of thing away detached from the main body or system.” This is a rarely used word that harks more of sleepy sociology conferences than serious security policy. By labeling such dictatorships in the nebulous legalese, we in a sense cheapen both our values and our numb own awareness concerning the clear and present dangers posed by such regimes.

Imagine, the President of the U..S. during a hypothetical crisis, calling upon the American military to go forth and risk their lives to fight the “outliers.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated, “There is a message for Iran and North Korea here…if you are not going to play by the rules, if you’re going to be a proliferator, then all options are on the table in terms of how we deal with you.”

Gates is right. But calling Iran anything less than a rogue state is probably an insult to the Atomic Ayatollahs in Tehran who have reveled in playing the role of global bad guys as much as Kim Jong-Il does in North Korea. As international “outliers” (did they mean outlaws?) both Tehran and Pyongyang, have through this fuzzy and muddled definition of their dictatorships been given reason for optimism, not fear.

Naturally Team Obama is marshalling its forces for yet another heralded diplomatic offensive in the UN Security Council to slap another set of “tough sanctions” on Iran. While Washington appears to have Russia backing a draft resolution tightening the noose on Teheran, it is not at all clear that the People’s Republic of China supports serious and focused sanctions. Should Beijing agree to any new Iran sanctions resolution, be certain the UN admonition will have more style than substance.

Three resolutions censuring Teheran during the Bush Administration failed to bring Iran back from the proliferation brink and it’s highly unlikely much is going to change as the Atomic Ayatollahs near the goal line for a working nuclear weapon.

The Wall Street Journal laments editorially, in Dreams of Disarmament, “If diplomatic activity equaled disarmament results, President Obama would soon be delivering a nuclear free world.”

But despite the Administration’s wishful thinking, as we approach this week's Washington nuclear security summit, and the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in May, the global community is now more than ever confronted by nuclear proliferation. North Korea is a declared nuclear power. The Islamic Republic of Iran is on the threshold of gaining the nuclear genie.

The Obama Administration using its lawyerly tact may label both states as “outliers.”

Those who are less optimistic about the intentions of the rulers in Tehran and Pyongyang would call them defiant and dangerous regimes.