Posted by
Jay Noble on Friday, October 13, 2006 3:14:31 PM
It's been almost a week since North Korea conducted its initial nuclear test. The week has been filled with talk from the U.S. administration that the test is
"unacceptable" and of serious consequences if the North Korea persist in developing a nuclear weapons capability. North Korea has in the meantime said that the imposition of sanctions would be "an act of war" and has threatened to conduct additional nuclear tests. And,
by the way, North Korea also threatened atomic attack on Japanese or American cities. In the contest of words it must be conceded that threatening atomic attack trumps the promise of serious consequences, and reflects that the North Koreans understand better than we do that the entire affair is now more theater than substance, angry words substituting for action.
On cue, now comes today's headline that Russia and China oppose serious sanctions against North Korea over the test. This means that any sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council will be little more than a slap on the wrist of the North Korean government, a mere stage whisper. The U.S. has previously wanted a resolution which at least hinted at possible military action against North Korea if it continued its nuclear program. The script has been rewriten to abandon that position. Apparently we will accept anything which condemns, no matter how mildly, the North Korean test, so long as it has the support of Russia and China. Our name goes above the title, even if the entire play has been rewritten by others. Perhaps the resolution will be printed on pink paper and wrapped with a pretty bow.
All of this has been eminently predictable. (See my last blog.) China and Russia have no interest in serious action againt North Korea. Neither does South Korea. Japan, which apparently sees things a little more clearly, has imposed its own set of sanctions on North Korea, but these alone will not signficantly impact the behavior of the North Korea regime. Only the United States has the military capability to stop North Korea from developing a fully operational nuclear weapons program, which coupled with North Korean advances in missile technology, will allow them to strike targets in Japan and the United States. Regrettably, there is nothing indicating that we will do anything.
Iran is watching. The jihadists are watching. Every warning about "serious consequences" that falls flat provides additional proof to the bad guys that we currently lack the fortitude to take decisive action. Our enemies perceive all of our warnings and talk of consequences as empty threats, unsupported by the willingness to take any risks. We seem intent on proving them right.
We can only pray that the price for our pusillanimous reaction to this challenge is one we can afford to pay.