Douglas Hanson writes that it's unlikely that Kim Jong Il exploded his own long—range missile after 42 seconds yesterday. True, with one possible exception: if it was on course to a real target. Ballistic missiles have predictable trajectories soon after launch ——— that's why they're ballistic ——— and the US Goverment must know roughly where Kim's 9,300 mile Taepodong 2 was heading. If it was bound for Japan, Okinawa, or US Navy vessels at sea, Kim could have destroyed it 42 seconds into flight quite deliberately, like a boxer pulling his punch to send the message: This one could have landed right on you, sucker. I doubt that we'll find out where KIm's ICBM was heading. But you can be sure that all the watchers knew the likely targets within a dozen seconds of launch. If it was launched to kill, that news is now known to goverments all over the world. One final thought. Iran seems to be following in Kim's exact footsteps: Public threats,...(Read Full Post)