The lessons of North Korea
North Korea is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous countries on earth. It is run by a totalitarian dictatorship, that has developed missiles and nuclear weapons while most of it's people are starving. After first agreeing to a deal thru the so-called Six-country negotiations (including N & S Korea, the US, Russia, China and Japan) which caused the Bush Administration to back off from its sanctions on N Korea, the N Koreans in typical fashion (as they did previously with their secret nuclear program) went ahead and continued missile development.
Last week N. Korea fired a three stage rocket, that they claimed was a satellite launch but others claimed was a missile test, and it met with almost universal condemnation, particularly since the missile flew over Japan. Pres. Obama stated publicly that N. Korea should be "punished" for violating UN Sec. Council resolution 1718, and he said that "words have to mean something." Yet, when the Security Council met in emergency session, nothing was done. It was predicted that both Russia and China, the latter of which is the main supporter of the N Korean regime, would oppose further sanctions.
So Pres. Obama has prematurely voiced his opinion while being unable to do anything. If things work out as before, N Korea will get away with its utter contempt for western and international opinions and sanctions. They do not act rationally as far as we are concerned, even with their people starving, what matters most to the ruler of N Korea, Kim Sung Ill, is that he is in the news and that his regime is able to taunt the US and the other world powers and get away with it.
The lessons from this for Iran and its proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon are obvious. They believe that the West is weak and decadent and that all they have to do is act aggressively and we, particularly Israel and the US, will just cave in. This is the lesson of threatening punishment when you are impotent to impose it, and of relying on the UN or taking the supposedly moral high ground. Pres. Obama talks well, he is smooth and articulate (unlike Bush) but will he have the balls to actually do anything when Kim Sung Ill deliberately tests him. The worst thing is to threaten punishment and then not deliver anything!
But, it's not only the politics, from every rocket launch N Korean scientists learn more, and then they pass on and sell their expertise and rockets to others, including Iran, that could use them to deliver it's future nuclear warhead.
So what is Obama going to do now, complain to his friends the Russians and the Chinese, send a few aircraft carriers, but without the courage to use them. If this is how things work with the most outrageous acts of N Korea, how could Israel depend on the US when Iran is involved. If Israeli intelligence concludes that Iran is about to develop nuclear weapons, should Israel wait for the US to consider its options, have discussions through the UN and then wait for a Security Council vote. By then we might be sizzled. I hope that the IAF has a plan of action that, even if it can't destroy all of Iran's nuclear capability, at least will put it back far enough in time for them to reconsider. According to the example of N Korea, depending on Pres. Obama and the US is clearly not a viable option.
Last week N. Korea fired a three stage rocket, that they claimed was a satellite launch but others claimed was a missile test, and it met with almost universal condemnation, particularly since the missile flew over Japan. Pres. Obama stated publicly that N. Korea should be "punished" for violating UN Sec. Council resolution 1718, and he said that "words have to mean something." Yet, when the Security Council met in emergency session, nothing was done. It was predicted that both Russia and China, the latter of which is the main supporter of the N Korean regime, would oppose further sanctions.
So Pres. Obama has prematurely voiced his opinion while being unable to do anything. If things work out as before, N Korea will get away with its utter contempt for western and international opinions and sanctions. They do not act rationally as far as we are concerned, even with their people starving, what matters most to the ruler of N Korea, Kim Sung Ill, is that he is in the news and that his regime is able to taunt the US and the other world powers and get away with it.
The lessons from this for Iran and its proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon are obvious. They believe that the West is weak and decadent and that all they have to do is act aggressively and we, particularly Israel and the US, will just cave in. This is the lesson of threatening punishment when you are impotent to impose it, and of relying on the UN or taking the supposedly moral high ground. Pres. Obama talks well, he is smooth and articulate (unlike Bush) but will he have the balls to actually do anything when Kim Sung Ill deliberately tests him. The worst thing is to threaten punishment and then not deliver anything!
But, it's not only the politics, from every rocket launch N Korean scientists learn more, and then they pass on and sell their expertise and rockets to others, including Iran, that could use them to deliver it's future nuclear warhead.
So what is Obama going to do now, complain to his friends the Russians and the Chinese, send a few aircraft carriers, but without the courage to use them. If this is how things work with the most outrageous acts of N Korea, how could Israel depend on the US when Iran is involved. If Israeli intelligence concludes that Iran is about to develop nuclear weapons, should Israel wait for the US to consider its options, have discussions through the UN and then wait for a Security Council vote. By then we might be sizzled. I hope that the IAF has a plan of action that, even if it can't destroy all of Iran's nuclear capability, at least will put it back far enough in time for them to reconsider. According to the example of N Korea, depending on Pres. Obama and the US is clearly not a viable option.
posted by Jack Cohen at 5:00 PM
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