Rogue Nation to Surrender Nuclear Materials to US

Not so much a rogue nation — it’s Japan:

Japan will announce Monday that it will turn over to Washington more than 700 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium and a large quantity of highly enriched uranium, a decades-old research stockpile that is large enough to build dozens of nuclear weapons, according to American and Japanese officials.

The announcement is the biggest single success in President Obama’s five-year-long push to secure the world’s most dangerous materials, and will come as world leaders gather here on Monday for a nuclear security summit meeting.

We got busy twisting Tokyo’s arm for a feel-good moment in the headlines — while China increased defense spending about 12% this year. Iran’s nuclear program goes on unabated — while that regime’s sponsor in Moscow feels friskier than ever.

At least we still have enough money left to go to Hell in a very nicely-appointed hand basket. Rich, Corinthian leather and everything.

UPDATE: It’s cool. We’ve got Belgium covered, too. No chance of them annexing Crimea.