by Jack Lee
By now you’ve probably heard the news that North Korea’s leadership is having a cow over the so-called “international program” (basically US and South Korea’s) intention to stop ships on the high seas for inspection for possible violations of the UN’s nuclear proliferation treaty.
Pyongyang, called the move, “tantamount to a declaration of war!”
Hey Pyongyang, no need to even go there! A peace agreement from the last Korean war doesn’t exist, technically a state of war still exists, but I digress.
“Now that the South Korean puppets were so ridiculous as to join in the said racket and dare declare a war against compatriots,” North Korea is “compelled to take a decisive measure,” the committee jokingly known as the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried by state media.
The Obama Administration is being put to the test early on by North Korea and many of Washington’s insiders expected this would happen. The timing is good for the PRNK, not so good for an inexperienced young leader like Obama and that is what Pyongyang is counting if they are to reap a rich havest of concessions for their cooperation .
The US has responded to NK’s nuclear bomb tests by seeking a consensus of opinion with the UN Security Council as to how we should proceed. Ideally the Obama team would like to reach a diplomatic resolution with compromises. This can be translated into basically a carrot and stick approach that Bush used to no avail.
If the Obama people are counting the UN or sanctions, they better realize North Korea has been sanctioned to the max and it hasn’t worked. As for the UN, good luck, this is a hopeless debating society so not much can be expected from the world community.
If we’re going to rely on diplomacy, we’re going against the odds and recent past realities. Diplomacy has never once reversed the thinking of any determined opposition. Diplomacy does not work to change deeply held ideas, core values or principles. Diplomacy can only be used to broker deals when when other states or parties are ready or able to make them and this sure isn’t Communist North Korea.
We’re in an age of despots, pirates, failed states and non-aligned terrorists. It’s an age of Global Hawk’s and Predator drones, of assassins and suicide bombers. It’s an age of guns, armies and generals, but it is not an age for diplomats and diplomancy…now enters Barrack Obama, welcome to our world Mr. President. It’s your move, are you ready to take on another war? I doubt anything short of the sinking of an aircraft carrier would compel Obama to use military force and even then I have my doubts.