May 31 2009
NORTH KOREA: TO BOMB OR NOT TO BOMB
When it comes to the touchy subject of North Korea and proliferation of nuclear weapons, the United States must be prepared to recognize sanctions arent going to work on a country hell bent on testing and acquiring long range nuclear weapons.
While it is good the international community has somewhat banded together, the real show of force has yet to come. As North Korea readies itself for yet another round of weapons testing, the question remains; what is any country, especially the USA, going to do to stop North Korea and this mad man?
The mere fact that a mad man is trying to acquire a weapon that will reach America is shocking to the mind. The missile tests are designed for trial and error; he will keep trying until he gets it right. My question in this post is; what should we do? Blow them up, do nothing, let sanctions continue not to work?
Is this the moment Joe Biden spoke of when he said Obama was going to be tested? I think it is. I also think Kim Jong Ill should never be allowed to keep testing missiles. He is a mad man who is bent on destruction of something- who knows what yet?
This opportunity is also a chance for Iran to see what is going to happen to itself as it pursues the same type of weapons.
A quick precision strike by those countries with security interests seems like a real possibility. I don’t believe the USA should go it alone, but the UN and our other allies are pansies and are never going to support a military strike. Kim and his million man army need to be reduced to size, a small size.
For some of my readers, the dominance of the USA is preeminent and we should take immediate action, but others who read this column, call for America to recognize other country’s sovereign rights. Those readers say; why can’t other countries have weapons we already have?
I would like my readers to weigh in and debate the likely outcome. Thanks.
Some of my viewers at http://ndfenceofobama.blogspot.com will weigh in on this subject and the broad expanse of WMD. Please feel free to post here and check out the rest of the article my other blog.
I got no love for N. Korea but I think there is a great exaggeration regarding what Kim Jong Ill is willing to do. The madman theory is hardly supportable. Its part and parcel to US foreign policy with dictators Washington doesn’t like. The full court media press vilifying the leader is a popular play from the State Department’s playbook.
N. Korea’s actions have not been unpredictable but the mainstream media glosses over many significant facts in the history of US / N. Korean relations. Namely that previously their provocative actions have brought the US to the bargaining table.
I am not a supporter of nuclear weapons for N. Korea or any nation. Nuclear weapons are WMDs and to use them in any situation is unconscionable. The US currently has thousands of these weapons for which there is NO strategic use, nuclear weapons are simply big business.
To get some perspective on US / N. Korean relations there is a very good interview with Bruce Cummings that gives some context to what the mainstream media has turned into a mud slinging event. http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/29/north_korea
Also here are some interesting facts about nuclear weapons.
http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/50.aspx
I am suggesting a need for stronger actions by the UN or a coalition of countries willing to stand up to this sort of proliferation. North Korea’s military may have numbers, but they also have antiquated equipment. The days of conventional warfare are over. As for Kim, if he isnt running the country, someone madder than him must be. To be “testing” all those missiles is nothing more than the playground bully attempting to see how far he can go before getting into a scrape. Sooner or later he is going to have to dealt with. My thoughts are the sooner he is, the better. Why let him acquire any significant weaponry or long range missiles when we will have to defend? Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and this may be one of those times. There are also other countries besides US that have alot more to worry about than we do if Kim gets WMD. Those countries should be willing to shoulder most of the responsibility too.
I agree. Nothing substantial will probably come from the UN. China is probably not going to do much either. North Korea has been told that bad actions will no longer be rewarded at the negotiating table and that is a change of US foreign policy that is good. I suppose we will have to wait it out.