which in itself is both different and refreshing. It's also interesting how they talk about the failed Clinton policies regarding Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.

Still, the crises Mr. Bush now faces surely were inevitable once he made the decision, after Sept. 11, 2001, that the United States could no longer tolerate an international status quo that allowed hostile and aggressive dictatorships to pursue weapons of mass destruction largely unchecked. We believe that decision was the right one, and long overdue: By the late 1990s it had become clear that the Clinton administration's approach of trying to contain Iraq and Iran with sanctions was not working, that their programs to build weapons of mass destruction were still advancing. By last summer, U.S. intelligence agencies knew that the policy of buying off North Korea also had failed and that Pyongyang had secretly worked on nuclear weapons even as it sought further deals with Washington. To continue these failed policies, especially given the existence of terrorist networks known to be seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, would have invited catastrophic outcomes in a few years' time. Yet in deciding to work more actively to prevent the emergence of new U.S. adversaries armed with dangerous weapons, the Bush administration made confrontation with those enemies more likely now.