On Obama’s nuclear weapons policy:

“We tried the unilateral way, in the Bush years, and it didn’t work,” a senior administration official said recently. “What we are trying is a fundamental change, a different view that says our security can be enhanced by arms control. There was a view for the past few years that treaties only constrained the good actors and not the bad actors.”

Wow. There is so much that is dead wrong in that small paragraph.

First: Bush consistently pursued nuclear disarmament through multi-lateral negotiations. With North Korea it was the Six Party Talks. With Iran it was through European partners including Russia. What past unilateralism? What about Obama’s pledge to hold direct talks with both those regimes without precondition? That sure sounds like unilateralism to me, isn’t it?

Secondly, the treaties the Clinton administrations signed with North Korea, a “bad actor” if there ever was one, did fail to constrain them. Iran is similarly unconstrained. Could Obama please explain how on earth does a nuclear reduction treaty with Russia will constrain either Iran or North Korea?

What universe do Obama & his advisers live in?