Another deal with North Korea is on the cusp of falling apart. Anyone who is actually surprised by this should feel free to leave a comment below.

So what happened this time? Mikhail Gorbachev says that the U.S. reneged on our deal with North Korea by leaving them on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. That’s a bit like the House Republicans saying that the first financial bailout bill failed because Nancy Pelosi made a partisan speech. It’s a convenient excuse, but it ignores the fundamentals of the situation.

The U.S.-DPRK deal failed because there may actually be no way to have a deal with the North Koreans. Sure, Christopher Hill, who has worked himself to the bone on this issue, just ended a visit to North Korea , defibrillator paddles in hand, to try and shock some life into this negotiation. It is unclear what effect his visit had.

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When Heads of State gathered for the opening of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York last month, they were welcomed to a headquarters with a leaky roof. Plastic sheeting was installed previously to protect desks and computers in the library from dripping water, where a marble wall has threatened to collapse. Asbestos insulation has yet to be replaced, and some components of the core infrastructure are so antiquated that spare parts are no longer made.

In many ways, the decay of the UN headquarters is an apt metaphor for the world organization’s increasingly antiquated capacity to meet what is unquestionably the most important—and some might say “transcendent”—issue we face as a global community of nations: the growing likelihood of the spread and perhaps inevitable use of a nuclear weapon.

Preventing that catastrophe should be of critical importance to the UN and all Member States. To wit, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently called nuclear terrorism, “one of the most serious threats of our time,” noting that, “even one such attack could inflict mass casualties and create immense suffering and unwanted change in the world forever.”

But working from their 1950s edifice, the UN works to prevent this evolving 21st century threat with a decidedly 20th Century toolkit.

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Last week, Jamie Metzl argued that America has been walking around with its metaphorical pants down, stumbling blindly, hurting itself both physically, and in the eyes of the rest of world. You don’t need to spend more then a few minutes reading a newspaper or watching cable TV to recognize the dramatically changing global dynamics. Yes, America is still the world’s sole superpower, but the rest of the world is catching up, and fast. In fact, in many key areas, the United States no longer leads the rest of the world. European and Asian countries are marching forward at a breakneck pace into the 21^st century while Uncle Sam chokes on their dust.

So, what do we do about it? Is there anything we CAN do? Is the era of U.S. leadership, some might say hegemony, nearing its end? Is the future destined to be a world where the United States is no longer the leader and driving force in the development of new ideas and revolutionary technologies? Should we resign ourselves to the global version of a consolation prize?

Jamie didn’t think so, and I agree with him. The high value Americans place on individualism and the open and free exchange of ideas will always make it a place that is conducive to global leadership. The real question is not CAN we, but WILL we be able to take advantage of it.

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