From the Imagination of John Bolton

In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, John Bolton criticizes America's handling of North Korea. At the end of the article, almost as an afterthought, he muses:

Finally, we need to learn the details of North Korean nuclear cooperation with other countries. We know that both Iran and Syria have long cooperated with North Korea on ballistic missile programs, and the prospect of cooperation on nuclear matters is not far-fetched. Whether and to what extent Iran, Syria or others might be “safe havens” for North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, or may have already participated with or benefited from it, must be made clear.

To summarize: at the end of an article about North Korea, Bolton considers the possibility that, hey, maybe Iran and Syria might be helping out North Korea. Not that he has any evidence of this; he simply imagines that it could be so, and says the US should look into it. Fair enough.

Then Jay Nordlinger at NRO's The Corner reads Bolton's editorial and writes a post entitled "The Axis in Action":

Are North Korea, Iran, and Syria helping one another with nuclear weapons — not weaponry in general, but nuclear weapons? If so, this is a stunning new development, or revelation. This could be unutterably dangerous for the world. Security-minded people in Congress may want to inquire about this. And we are reminded, once more, of the complete validity of the much-mocked phrase “axis of evil.”

The Right-Wing Echo Chamber at work! Let's break this down line by line, shall we?

Are North Korea, Iran, and Syria helping one another with nuclear weapons — not weaponry in general, but nuclear weapons?

It sure is easy to make up something scary in the form of a question. For example: "Where was Jay Nordinger on the night that Owen Wilson tragically attempted to take his own life?"

If so, this is a stunning new development, or revelation.

If so, this would be a stunning new development, or revelation. Of course, there's no evidence that it is so.

This could be unutterably dangerous for the world.

If there were any evidence that it was so.

Security-minded people in Congress may want to inquire about this. And we are reminded, once more, of the complete validity of the much-mocked phrase “axis of evil.”

What?? In related news, John Doe told his friend Bob Smith that, theoretically, his wife might be cheating on him. This hypothetical situation reminds us of the the validity of the phrase "you can't trust women."

Nordlinger is apparently unaware that the hypothetical musings of John Bolton in an editorial have absolutely no effect on the validity of the phrase "Axis of Evil."

The worst part of the whole post, though, is the title: "The Axis in Action." A more appropriate title would be: "The Axis in Action... in John Bolton's head."

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Look, I don't mean to suggest that two or three dictatorial countries could never work together on nuclear technology. But the world is full of scary possibilities. Let's see some evidence that they are before we panic, ok? The imagination of John Bolton doesn't count.