Enemies at the Gates

A look around the world at some of our most well-known trouble spots is not encouraging. It seems that America's stated and potential enemies are all testing the waters with more than just rhetoric to see just how strong our new president really is.

Let's take a little tour:

Iran apparently launched a satellite into orbit Monday to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution. If the reports of this event are true, we should be extremely concerned because that kind of missile technology could quite easily be converted to deliver a nuclear payload.

North Korea has entered a new temper-tantrum phase that has included sharply belligerent rhetoric toward South Korea and preparations for a long-range missile test.

China doubled the number of submarine patrols it executed in 2008, according to a report recently released by the Federation of American Scientists. This is only one sign among many that China is dedicated to building a larger navy to challenge America's dominance as a naval power.

Tough economic times or not, this is not a time to be considering defense budget cuts like Obama proposed last week.