Q. Did "containment" work in North Korea?
A. No.
Q. How do you know that "contaiment" worked in Iraq?
A. We won't know until Iraq is liberated and the full extent of the regime's WMD program is known (this won't work with Hans Blix fans).
A. If "containment worked" in Iraq, why did the UN Security Council vote 15-0 to insist on continued forced inspections?
They'll say containment has worked in NK so far because they haven't nuked us (yet.) And they'll say that the 15 to 1 vote is because "we all know" that Saddam is "a bad guy" and "should be disarmed." They just want it done "peacefully."
I agree with your points, but I'm already on your side. I'm trying to come up with points even THEY can understand.
It's pretty hard.