Are the North Korean rulers really homicidal maniacs like Saddam Hussein, or are they just pretending to be, in order to scare the civilized world into more concessions for peace?

With Saddam, there's no doubt. He's responsible for 1.5 million deaths, attacked at least 5 neighboring countries, actually used WMD, violated over a dozen UN resolutions, and even failed to account for missing persons and property from his 1990 invasion of Iraq.

There's therefore little question that Saddam urgently needs to be forcibly removed from power, as soon as possible, before he starts yet another war and gets another million people killed, in all kinds of horrendous and creative ways (WMD).

North Korea, on the other hand, has issued all kinds of bellicose, if not insane, statements, but hasn't really attacked anyone but their own people (aside from occasional minor incidents w/ South Korea).

North Korea's stalinist dictatorship must also eventually be removed from power, but this may understandably be more of a long term goal.

Therefore I see none of the so-called 'double standard' in the Bush administration's foreign policy.