There is much talk regarding the North Korean explosion of a nuclear device.   Rhetoric, however, is not a substitute for action.   

The belief that the U.N. Security Action will take meaningful action against North Korea is a fantasy.    China and Russia will block a resolution even hinting at possible military action and sanctions will not affect the North Korean government, which has suffered the starvation of its population and whose economy is already a wreck. 

The question is whether the United States has the will to act on what is ultimately a question of its own national security.    The threat of North Korea with a functioning nuclear bomb is not so much that it will use such a weapon against us, but that it share the technology to construct a nuclear weapon (and perhaps a prototype device) to Iran or the jihadists.  The Iranian
leadership shows every indication that it would use such a weapon against Israel, and at the least wants the bomb to deter the United States from protecting our interests in the Middle East.   The jihadists yearn for the chance to explode a nuclear device in an American city.  None of these scenarios is acceptable to the U.S., hence it is imperative that North Korean nuclear program be stopped before aiding Iran or the terrorists.

Iran is also taking our measure for the time it will move to impose Iranian hegemony over the oil producing regions of the Middle East.  Our lack of response to Iranian meddling in Iraq has already signalled a weakness of will.  Regarding the jihadists, it is an article of faith that we lack the stomach for combat and the spilling of blood, and will retreat to avoid real casualties. [Considering that the Democrats may retake Congress and their  Iraq policy is "redeployment" outside the country, are the Jihadists wrong?]   If the U.S. reaction to North Korean testing a nuclear bomb is limited to statements that the situation is "unacceptable," coupled with warnings of unspecified consequences, the message will be that American protests  are not serious and may be disregarded with impunity.   Warnings of "meaningful consequences" lack credibility absent the means and the will to act on the warning.   All our words and all our protests mean
nothing unless the nation is willing to cause real pain to those who ignore them.   Our credibility is damaged.  The  repercussions of failing to take aggressive action to stop North Korea from further development of its nuclear weapons program will extend well beyond the Korean peninsula.  

The will to act is the key.  "Will" in this context means having the moral courage to accept whatever consequences flow from a decision.  It necessarily requires a belief in the rightness of one's cause.   At this point in time, it is highly questionable the United States of America has the will to act.   The country is bitterly divided ideologically on virtually every issue; a large percentage of the population seriously considers George W. Bush a greater threat to the nation than Osama Bin Laden, al Quida or North Korea. A visit to liberal leaning blogs on other sites will reflect the quite serious belief that somehow Karl Rove is responsible for the North Koreans conducting this test.   In the domestic arena, traditions and institutions which have underpinned American society since its inception are under assault as never before.   It is difficult to think of any important question facing the country today, whether moral, political, or falling into some other category, on which the American people can be said to be united.   It is equally difficult to think of an event which would unite us.   The unity attributed to the events of September 11th was a chimera.  What passed for "unity" in response to the  September 11th attacks was actually a shared emotional expression tied to a the loss of life and national symbols.  This unity was passive (and, for some, pacifist) in nature,  which explains why liberals and Democrats joined in.  Once, however, attention turned to actually responding to the attack, this "unity" crumbled quickly and hasn't returned.  Some think a truly cataclysmic event would unite us.  Given the dynamics at work in American society, the deep seated pacifism of most liberals and Democrats, their "guilt" fixation about the past alleged "sins" of our country,  I question that any event, no matter how terrible, would unite this country.    It is at least as probable that a cataclysmic event might herald the disintegration of the nation rather than its unification.  I believe the Jihadists are of this view, which makes it all the more critical that they never acquire  nuclear weapons with which to test the scenario. 

History is replete with examples of small movements, outnumbered armies and lesser nations, who were spiritually unitied and possessed the will to act aggressively, emerging triumphant over larger, seeming stronger powers who were paralyzed by internal conflict.  The time is rapidly running out for the United States to mend its fissures and rekindle the spirit which activates the will to act.  

North Korea conducted this test as a direct challenge to the United States and the international order the U.S. leads.  The line in sand has been crossed, the chip knocked off the shoulder.   The little bully nation is challenging the easy going world champion, and is banking on the bigger, stronger opponent shriniking away from a fight.  If the U.S. wants to retain its credibility and ultimately protect itself from actual  attack, actual fighting may be necessary.   We can fight now, when we have all the advantages and the assurance of a quick, albeit bloody, victory, or we can slink away, declaiming our refusal to fight as an act of courage and restraint.    It is not a course of action which promises a good result (for historical confirmation, see Munich Agreement, 1938). 

The North Koreas and Irans of the world understand one thing very well and that is power.  If  either believes we lack the will to use our power, they will not hesitate to attempt to impose their own will on a world lacking the leadership to defend itself.