In the New York Post this morning, Gordon Cucullu writes of President Obama’s proposed defense program cuts as Iran and North Korea continue to cooperate; their joint efforts will soon bring Israel and our West Coast within range of their nuclear weapons:

The focus of the joint program is multi-faceted: Begin with rocket bodies produced by North Korea. Improve them with enhanced, longer-range capabilities. Meanwhile, develop a warhead and payload capacity. Then add terminal-guidance technology so the warhead can hit what it aims for. Finally, produce a nuclear payload that can vaporize cities and populations. (The bomb Pyongyang has tested was small — analysts don’t think it has a Hiroshima-size nuke yet.)

Years of diplomacy led by the Europeans (and encouraged by the Bush administration) have failed to stop either Tehran or Pyongyang’s progress, let alone their cooperation. How will the new administration respond to the latest chilling developments?

To date, President Obama has indicated policies that have been interpreted by America’s enemies as signs of weakness: a willingness to enter high-level diplomatic talks without precondition; closing Guantanamo; his apologetic Al Arabiya interview.

The new president is also on record opposing missile-defense technology. Yet decades of R&D are now paying off: Stunned critics watched recent tests at Vandenberg Air Fore base where “hitting a bullet with a bullet” proved to be well within the capability of USAF scientists.

Of course, the administration has also ordered Defense Department planners to cut 10 percent from their budget. This, while it pushes a $900 billion “stimulus package.” Billions for special interests, but not a cent for defense?

Editor — Gordon Cucullu is a Vietnam veteran, Special Forces officer, and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. His new book is ‘Inside Gitmo: The True Story behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay.’