Megalomaniac/danger to the rest of the free world #1:
North Korea with Nuclear Weapons. Bad? Yes?? Do I get an agreement? Okay. Let's move on now.
Megalomaniac/danger to the rest of the free world #2:
China regularly threatens the people of Taiwan ( untouched by the Chinese since 1949 ) that they will be invaded by the Chinese to reclaim them as their own. Do you KNOW anyone from Taiwan, tallhappy, Almondjoy? I do. They were born there. Lived their whole lives there. They are Taiwanese. Do you enjoy YOUR freedom? Do you want it taken away? When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the people who suffered through the invasion had to endure the murder of its people, Rape, Torture, Imprisonment. Luckily for THEM, Iraq threatened the world by disrupting the free flow of oil at market prices. The people of Kuwait are now "free" ( as much as they are ruled by the Sheiks that were there before, and not Saddam, Hussein.
"I'm not sure what the "one at a time" part means." Once North Korea is dealt with, the next issue to have to deal with is CHINA ... very troubling, unless, of course, you don't give a S*IT, and don't care about people around the world having their liberties torn from them.
Hu Jintao Says: be prepared for an "armed liberation." of Taiwan The US government ( usually ) says: the people of Taiwan have the right to determine their own future. ... Not China. If Powell is making some vague reference that the US won't mess with China over Taiwan, just to speed along the North Korean issue, then so be it.
Not to long ago, "JimmaH Carter" favored China over Taiwan. Hopefully, with Republican administrations ( as well as the members of the administration who are supposed to act on behalf of it's President ) we will see a nation that continues to support the people of Taiwan. If that fails to happen, then we will simply abandon free people in the face of a clear and present danger that is China.
News reports such as this: Tension rises as China scours the globe for energy
do not make me believe that the future id rosy, and actions by Powell such as this, are not pleasant to read.