Nuclear Politics

President Bush has been distracted. He did not have his eye on the ball. Lil Kim was able to produce weapons grade nuclear material while the Bush foreign policy team did nothing. And now, amid tough talk, they are returning to the UN and sending letters to Lil Kim. Although I understand the letters are in all caps to show just how serious the US is about North Korea’s joining the nuclear-armed family.

Yes, Bush has been distracted by a worthless and endless conflict in the wrong war, at the wrong time. Iraq has completely overshadowed meaningful foreign policy. If only Rice had taken advantage of the detailed, step by step plans put into motion by the Clinton administration. Surely North Korea would by now be an ally, a trading partner, and have no ability to produce nuclear weapons or delivery systems to threaten the world. No, the plan to give North Korea nuclear technology, talk about peace and move forward as equal partners respecting each other’s sovereignty was all forsaken by Cowboy Diplomacy!

Today Selig Harrison, former Washington Post bureau chief in Northeast Asia, explained the Bush failures with North Korea. Remember that Clinton gave Lil Kim the technology and built their reactor. In exchange, Lil Kim promised that only electricity would be generated – nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The Clinton deal was (and remains) the best approach, as Harrison says, because the recent nuclear test was only a last-ditch effort to jumpstart a bilateral dialog on the normalization of relations. We now have new diplomatic opportunities.

Let us continue with the Clinton Plan. After all diplomacy is an art, and standing firm in the protection of the United States and its allies and its interests can only serve to alienate and upset the North Koreans. We must never contemplate regime change by any method. It is truly in the United States best security interest to enter into bilateral negotiations. The US should press North Korea to suspend further nuclear and missile testing while negotiation and normalization proceeds. Two major considerations must rule the day: the US has no business telling North Korea what they can and cannot do, and after all, they are a sovereign nation to be respected and ultimately trusted.

The Beijing Agreement (September 2005) specifically stated, in Article One, that North Korea would “abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.” But Lil Kim says the world must learn to coexist with a nuclear North Korea. He only wants dialog AND open trade AND entry into the international banking system AND removal from the US list of terrorist nations AND multilateral aid from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.

All the while the nuclear and missile programs have continued, a missile was launched across Japanese territory, and the ever-trustworthy Communists proclaimed, “We will not completely and finally dismantle our nuclear weapons program until our relations with the United States are fully normalized.” Just days ago a North Korean official threatened to launch a nuclear-tipped missile if sanctions were imposed. Possessing nuclear weapons will force the world, specifically the United States, to normalize and equalize and jointly sing Kumbayah. After the sing-a-long billions upon billions of dollars will be poured into North Korea's coffers. The lying, conniving Commy dictator is using the threat of nuclear power in hopes the last, best hope for liberty in the world – the US – will roll over and ultimately agree to finance his failed economy.

The truth is simple and clear. Lil Kim is the least capable fly buzzing around the table. He is acting out so that the big kids will recognize him. But his act is a major test for the United States. It must be considered that China is simply using their little trading partner to test US resolve. Iran, to be certain, is watching carefully to gauge US reaction and to determine whether there truly are consequences for developing nuclear weapons. Writing letters and talking tough (ala UN resolutions) is little deterrent when the new kid brings nuclear weapons to the playing field.

John Kennedy’s inaugural speech included strong praise for the United Nations and even said that nuclear weapons should be controlled “by all nations.” A lofty thought and a real expression of cooperation with our neighbors throughout the world. But that was a time when nobody – not the USSR, China, Iran… nobody – would challenge US resolve without sure and swift punitive response. There would have been no USS Cole bombing, or US Embassy bombings, and certainly no bombs in the basement of the WTC. We were the Good Guys; we knew it and we lived it.

I doubt that Jack would be proud of his bother Ted, Pelosi, Durbin, Murtha, their media lapdogs or the rest of America’s left-wing. Being a Democrat now is nothing like the Party in Jack’s day. Especially in terms of foreign policy today’s appeasers could learn some hard lessons from their forebears like Jack or Truman or FDR. The old guys understood the proper use of power and strength, and America was better for it.

While we are talking our enemies are taking advantage of every perceived weakness. Every success of our enemies and every misstep in US strategic action cause too many Americans to lose faith in who we are and what this nation really is. Faith without works is dead, and the time for talk and appeasement is long passed. Our continued failure to provide quick and decisive action will certainly lead our enemies to call our proverbial hand – then real, unfathomable worldwide conflict will be upon us.