01 JAN 07 / "Renewed Threats in a New Year"

In 2007, the world will become an even more dangerous place. Despite our best efforts, the United States remains a super power that is unable to use its influence and exert enough pressure to stop people from killing each other.

If the United States allows itself to be defeated in Iraq, the country could become a new breeding ground for terrorism. Since it's only a defeat if ground is ceded to the terrorists, we cannot lose in Iraq of our own volition. Thankfully, a politically chastened president does not seem to be caving to pressure to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.

Absolute victory in Iraq -- the establishment of a democratic government that is capable of maintaining order -- is highly improbable because it is much easier for the insurgents to maintain chaos as the status quo. Further complicating matters, is the fact that the United States cannot choose sides in the civil unrest between Sunni and Shia.  A heavy-handed military action against Moqtada al Sadr, for example, would result the killing of thousands of innocent civilians and might provoke the Congress to cut off funding.

Because of our failures in Iraq, Iran is morphing into a regional super state and is on a quest for nuclear weapons that we are seemingly powerless to stop.

The situation in North Korea remains uncertain. The country could become an exporter of nuclear weaponry. History teaches us that had China not entered the war on the side of North Korea, the entire Korean peninsula would have been a unified democracy for the past 50 years. This is a lesson for us today in Iraq.

The United Nations is ineffective against North Korea and Iran. 

Lebanon continues to be unstable. Hezbollah is a powerful force and may be planning an attack on the United States in retribution for its long-standing support of Israel.

As 9/11 recedes from memory, Americans are less likely to consider themselves at war with Islamic terrorists, making us more susceptible to attack. The porous U.S. border makes it easy for terrorists to smuggle one or several nuclear weapons into the United States. In addition, there are Innumerable vulnerable 'soft targets' within the United States that could easily be struck by Islamic terrorists.

The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan.

The "Blame America" crowd and other domestic enemies who do not support the president and do not heed his warnings of future attacks in the United States with nuclear weapons. The nation is not on a war footing and anti-American sentiment is growing around the world, particularly in Europe, where it has become fashionable to ridicule the president of a nation that freed so many from tyranny.

The United States must maintain pressure on international terrorists.