The current crisis has already gone too far. Nuclear threats are not a game. Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions, and fuel fear and instability.
This, according to NBC News, was the anxious alarm UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sounded yesterday after North Korea announced plans to restart a nuclear reactor it shut down in 2007 pursuant to U.S.-led disarmament talks and international agreements.
Now, in Pavlovian fashion, pundits are competing with politicians to explain whether this is just another ploy to extort oil and food from spooked Western countries – as North Korea has been doing ever since its nuclear ambitions became a clear and present danger in the early 1990s; or whether, given his country’s notorious record of hollow threats, this is the necessary step boy leader Kim Jong-un must take to reinforce confidence in his leadership – even at the risk of triggering nuclear war.
By contrast, here is the prescient observation I made back in 2007, when the United States was hailing its landmark agreement with North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program.
It is my informed belief that no economic concession or military threat will ever induce or coerce North Korea … to part with [its] nukes. After all, to do so would reduce [t]his country from one that commands the world’s attention (on par with Iran) to one that languishes in relative obscurity (on par with Bangladesh).
(“North Korea Denuked? Dream On,” The iPINIONS Journal, September 5, 2007)
Yet it’s an indication of how befuddled government officials become when talking about North Korea that NBC Nightly News quoted Secretary of State John Kerry vowing last night that the United States will prevent it from acquiring the nuclear weapons it actually acquired seven years ago.
Again, by contrast, here is what I proposed, in “North Korea to The World: Nuke Off!” The iPINIONS Journal, December 13, 2012, as the only sensible way to deal with this little unruly nation:
Obama should convene a coalition of the willing among Asia-Pacific countries (APEC) to forge agreement on the following resolution, which, significantly, would not be subject to UN-style veto by any country (namely, China or Russia):
APEC
- Recognizing that the United Nations is unable or unwilling to stop North Korea from violating its resolutions (most notably, res. 1718 against conducting nuclear tests or launching ballistic missiles) with impunity;
- Finding that these violations pose an untenable threat to the Asia-Pacific region;
Resolves that:
- Instead of continuing the feckless practice of bribing North Korea with cash, oil and food to get it to stop these violations, APEC shall henceforth impose the severest possible sanctions, unilaterally;
- If, either as a result of misfire or deliberate intent, any of North Korea’s missiles even threatens any APEC country, the United States shall lead the bombardment of all of its nuclear and missile facilities until they are incapable of even setting off firecrackers, let alone launching nuclear missiles.
All else is folly….
Apropos of folly, the nature of Lil Kim’s latest threat to nuke South Korea and the United States is such that you could be forgiven for thinking this is just his version of an April Fools’ Day prank. Never mind that the media’s hysterical, warmongering coverage is such that you could be forgiven for thinking North Korea had already launched a few nukes … somewhere….
Whatever the case, I am all too mindful that every president has reacted to similar provocation by pleading with North Korea’s menacing leaders to behave and return to the negotiating table – where they could partake of all manner of economic concessions and financial assistance.
This is why I am so encouraged that President Obama has reacted more in accordance with my resolution by dispatching nuclear-capable bombers, stealth-jet fighters, and battleships to the region. Which is his way of saying to Lil Kim:
Go ahead, make my day!
Enough said?
Well, just to clarify, Clint Eastwood made such a doddering old fool of himself trying to mock Obama at last year’s Republican Convention that it’s impossible to ever associate these iconic “Dirty Harry” words with him again. By contrast, based solely on the way he has been droning al-Qaeda terrorists, Obama is just the heroic character to intone them.
NOTE: Perhaps Americans recoiling with indignation at North Korea’s reckless and feckless threats will now have a new level of respect for Israelis who have been living under Iran’s jihadist and existential threats for years.
Related commentaries:
North Korea denuked?…
North Korea to the world…