ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO:

For the Iraqis, a Missile Deal That Went Sour (DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER, Nov. 30, 2003, NY Times)

It was Saddam Hussein's last weapons deal — and it did not go exactly as he and his generals had imagined.

For two years before the American invasion of Iraq, Mr. Hussein's sons, generals and front companies were engaged in lengthy negotiations with North Korea, according to computer files discovered by international inspectors and the accounts of Bush administration officials.

The officials now say they believe that those negotiations — mostly conducted in neighboring Syria, apparently with the knowledge of the Syrian government — were not merely to buy a few North Korean missiles.

Instead, the goal was to obtain a full production line to manufacture, under an Iraqi flag, the North Korean missile system, which would be capable of hitting American allies and bases around the region, according to the Bush administration officials.

It's a trifecta: Iraq, Syria, and North Korea in one shot.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 30, 2003 11:54 PM