Distrust and verify. . .

. . .first. But, Iran's agreement to suspend uranium enrichment is definitely a positive development. Iran's decision should be all the evidence needed by the American public to show that they made the right decision in re-electing President George W. Bush. Every nation on earth, including those of Olde Europe, was waiting to see if the atrocity of September 11, 2001 was enough of an event to stir America to action, and keep her on the course.

Well, the results are coming in. First, oil prices began dropping within 48 hours of the election being called in the President's favor. There was a slight, temporary uptick with news of unrest in Nigeria, but that seems to have abated.

Then, North Korea suddenly softened its stance on the six-nation multilateral netotiations regarding nuclear proliferation, adopting a "wait-and-see" attitude on the matter. While not exactly a huge shift, it indicates that America's message is getting across, and that Kim Jong Il realizes that North Korea's hostile, bellicose position hasn't been beneficial to its future.

Had John Kerry won the election, none of these things would be happening right now. All of these nations were waiting to see if Mogadishu was the benchmark for what America could tolerate in terms of loss with regard to asserting its military will.

Then again, had John Kerry been elected, I suppose we could have hoped for some productive summits. I just can't imagine why any of the rogue nations of the Axis of Evil would feel the need to make any concessions. After all, Kerry's main criticisms of the President's foreign policy centered on its "unilateralism" and supposed incompetence. And, the reason Iran and North Korea have been so unwilling to bend on their respective nuclear programs had nothing to do with the prospect of actually defeating the United States militarily. It had everything to do with holding out until the American people grew war-weary and frightened at the potential consequences of further military deployments.

With John Kerry in the White House, North Korea and Iran would both now have the upper hand. They could look across the negotiating table, and say, "Well, President Kerry. . .just what do you plan to do about it? We both know your people won't abide military action, and we're already sanctioned out the wazoo. What do we have to gain by agreeing to your demands?"

But, with President Bush in the White House, the world is back on notice.