Posted on 02/10/2003 4:07:37 PM PST by TLBSHOW
Why North Korea Is Not the Biggest Threat
When Bush identified North Korea with Iran and Iraq in the "Axis of Evil," the left said, "You can't compare those nations! They're totally, 100% different!" But now that North Korea has revealed their nukes, these same leftists have made the question, "Why are we treating these nations differently? North Korea is a greater threat." There's a key difference between these two nations: one tells us it has nukes and the other denies it.
The nations that declare their nuclear weapons or programs, aren't the ones you have to worry about. North Korea is starving, so they're using their nuclear program to get attention and food and oil. But when you have a nation like Iraq that is hiding and denying its nuclear program, you have to worry - because those are the nations that are planning to use those weapons offensively. That's the scary thing about Iraq.
There are several ways that you can answer this "NK vs. Iraq" false choice. Basically, you have to realize that it takes just as much time and attention to appease Iraq, North Korea and al-Qaeda as it does to deal with them. If you're going to honestly compare these two nations, your only conclusion is that you don't want Iraq to become another North Korea. Remember, we're only dealing with North Korea as it is because Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright gave them two nuclear reactors to play with.
Kim Jong-Il does not want to die. He knows that the moment they use one of those weapons, they cease to exist. They're bargaining, not going on offense. Saddam is doing exactly the opposite. On Meet the Press, Madam Albright pretty much admitted that the Clinton people blew it by not taking Sudan's offer to turn over bin Laden to the United States. Remember also that in 1998, the Democrats and Clinton used the same rhetoric Bush uses today on Iraq. It sounded good, but it was just a distraction from impeachment, so Saddam just kept building his arsenal.
Sorry, you assertion is not in evidence.
Rush is saying that Saddam is building toward nuclear confrontation, not that he's there yet. The way Saddam would gain power would be in ways that would not bring about his demise at the hands of the US military, but would use his WMD's against neighbors and his own internal opposition, while tying US hands via the UN, its security council and countries like our former NATO allies.
Both Kim Jong Il and Saddam desire to survive. Neither man gives much of a hoot about his suffering constituents. Saddam may think that if he does provoke an atomic retaliation he will be able to survive by being underground, but he'll be easy to flush out with something akin to water down a gopher hole.
Saddam is intent on stopping our attack, because he knows that if it comes, he's ultimately toast. He's probably already given the conditional orders to unleash the Pandora's box he's booby-trapped, however. That will probably be part of our ten year war, and is one of the real foci and reasons we can wait no longer. How much will we have to sacrifice to win that war? That depends how much extra time and misdirection people like you cost us.
You say Bush and Rumsfeld have fevered brains? All unbiased evidence shows you to be clearly delusional.
HF
-Eric
That makes me wonder a helluva lot about what Clintons international policy may have been.
As Rush argued on his radio program today, Clinton had plenty of "defining moments," but passed them by.
That is only true if you pay no attention whatsoever. Think about it. You are a pissant little country but you have developed or stolen nukes. What do you do?
Saddam has already proven in the Gulf War that he's willing to take out everybody else with him when he goes.
OK, Menshevik, what's the NK and Iranian plan? Go ahead. How do you deal with NK. BTW, if Seoul gets nuked, you lose.
North Korea is completely surrounded by heavy hitters; Russia, China, South Korea and Japan. Iran is in it's last gasping moments because the largest portion of their population is under 30 and hates the fundamentalists. They want freedom, love the US, and are ready to overthrow the mullahs. Iraq on the other hand, is surrounded by countries weaker then they are (militarily) and have experienced enough of Saddams aggression to be terrified of him. He knows this. THIS is where the US has to exercise it's power. Saddam hates the US, is undermining us at every turn, and if you don't believe he'd use those weapons on us if he gets the chance you are nuts. Why do you think he has them, because he likes culturing smallpox? He has them because he plans to use them.
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