North Korea and the Bomb
North Korea set just set off nuclear and missile tests that set the western nations all atwitter. The fact that such responses have been so effective in the past is encouraging. Wait a minute… in reviewing the history of our relations with North Korea it seems that such actions have produced no change in actions and policies of the Asian nation. Perhaps the leader is unaware of the displeasure expressed by the international community as the state run press certainly will not be carrying any stories critical of his actions… sort of like the New York Times and the Obama administration.
If only we could get his personal email address so the President could contact him directly with his strongly worded message… maybe using ALL CAPS and perhaps even bolding some of the stronger words for emphasis. Then we might be able to get through to Kim Jong-Il, who, wanting to be a good neighbor to us all, will abandon the program.
If this doesn’t work, there is talk of pressuring China to encourage North Korea to put the brakes on their nuclear program. This is an excellent plan as our good friends the Chicoms have always been looking out for our well being and would be happy to help us out by easing world tensions. Some might say we don’t much leverage with China anymore, I’m not sure this is true. The United States has become such a huge customer for Chinese goods and they have bought so much of our debt, we need to approach them in terms of protecting their investment. We need to explain that if the crazy Korean starts lobbing nukes at the US, it would make it much more difficult for us to pay back the loans they have given us.
This pretty well sums up our options in dealing with North Korea… or any other bad actor on the international stage… if a bit facetiously. The country is already isolated. It would be hard to separate it any more from normal nations with goals of peacefully pursuing their own welfare and goals. They do not care what we say or think.
As far as depending on the Chinese – for all we know, they may behind these efforts to destabilize the international scene and show the ineffectiveness of our President through a client state. Washington is not the only capitol that values plausible deniability. They are already doing their best to destroy our economy… a little more pressure will make that job a little easier.
So what do we do? I don’t have access to all the security briefings and wisdom of Vice President Joe Biden, but I certainly hope the Obama brain trust does not come up brilliant plans like sending in the Marines or “surgical” air strikes. Even though it is run by a psychopated leader, North Korea is still a sovereign nation. They perceive the freedom loving people of the west… those of us that remain… as a threat and are arming themselves for a potential conflict. To them this is the truth and a nuclear North Korea may just be a fact of life in the twenty-first century.
Does this mean that the United States must roll over to petty dictators like this? Or even major dictators in China or Russia? With the technology and the finest military personnel in the world, this is not necessary. We can’t relax or become complacent in our international interactions. We can’t foolishly assume that everyone has our live and let live attitude. We need to let any nation that thinks we are a paper tiger understand, actions against us or our friends will have very negative consequences for them. Will this require a brain transplant in the occupant of the White House?