Where now are the smug cynics who so derisively castigated Ronald Reagan for his vision of a missile defense system back in the 1980s? Where are the skeptics who sneeringly dismissed Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative by calling it a "Star Wars" fantasy? Where are the liberals who scorned George Bush for pursuing missile defense when he first took office?
Not in Tokyo, evidently:
Japan wants to develop a joint missile defense system with the United States as quickly as possible following North Korea's missile tests, the Japanese defense chief said.
"Along with the establishment of a surveillance radar network, we want to work with the United States to build an interception mechanism as soon as possible," Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga told parliament, as quoted by Kyodo News.
Doubtless the Japanese are thankful for the vision, realism, and resolution of both Reagan and Bush, and it's probable that when Iran starts launching ICBMs the haughty Europeans will also ask to be favored with the fruits of the "cowboy" Reagan's foresight.
On the other hand, if people like this had been heeded back in the eighties and nineties the anxiety produced by North Korea's recent missile launch would be several orders of magnitude greater, especially in Japan.
The nation can sleep better knowing that a workable missile defense is being deployed to protect against just such threats as North Korea wishes to pose. We can sleep better because of the determination of men like Ronald Reagan and George Bush to not leave us defenseless against a missile attack.