Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Stopping WMD

You all know about North Korea, but I have a question - What does it say about an Administration when they select to invade a country that has no WMD, but they can not stop an "evil" dictator for test firing six missiles that may very well have carried nuclear warheads, all the while a press briefing about the subject is being conducted?
MR. SNOW: Steve, did all five fall in the Sea of Japan?

MR. HADLEY: I have one piece of news. There has been a sixth.* The fifth missile was a Nodong, it hit the Sea of Japan. It was launched at 6:31 p.m., eastern daylight time, impact at 6:36 p.m. There has been a sixth launch. This is also from a Nodong, also from the Kittaeryong facility. We don't have an impact location or time at this point.
Of course, I can see Kim Jung Il taking the Whitehouse's statment very seriously, no?
On the afternoon of July 4 (Washington, DC time), the U.S. detected multiple missile launches from North Korea, including the Taepo Dong 2. The United States strongly condemns these missile launches and North Korea's unwillingness to heed calls for restraint from the international community. We are consulting with international partners on next steps. This provocative act violates a standing moratorium on missile tests to which the North had previously committed. Regardless of whether the series of launches occurred as North Korea planned, they nevertheless demonstrate North Korea's intent to intimidate other states by developing missiles of increasingly longer ranges. We urge the North to refrain from further provocative acts, including further ballistic missile launches.

The September 2005 Joint Statement at the Fourth Round of the Six Party Talks offered the North Korean government and the North Korean people a better path. North Korea's actions only serve to further isolate North Korea and harm its people. While the United States remains committed to a peaceful diplomatic solution and to implementation of the agreed upon Joint Statement, the North Korean regime's actions and unwillingness to return to the talks appears to indicate that the North has not yet made the strategic decision to give up their nuclear programs as pledged to the other five parties. Accordingly, we will continue to take all necessary measures to protect ourselves and our allies.

We will be seeking to address this matter in discussions in New York and with our allies and regional partners.

3 comments:

REB 84 said...

Windspike,

Last week I was listening to NPR. One of the analysts stated that l'il Kim was feeling a bit neglected with all the talk about Iraq & Iran. It seems he is standing up and saying "Wait a minute, aren't I part of the Axis of Evil? You guys need to pay attention to me!"

I believe that sometimes right-wing rhetoric can backfire and instigate an unstable leader to do strange things to live up to our "evil" expectations. Good work rad-cons. The last thing we need is another delusional dictator with an inferiority complex starting unprovoked wars.

Hmm, can you think of anyone else who fits this model?

REB 84 said...

By the way QuestionItNow - Will America Lead? has linked to Educational Whisper. Please consider adding a link to www.QuestionItNow.com/blogs.htm

Anonymous said...

Lets Send the Message to George, his policies of neglecting 3rd world countries is only going to make our country weak. North Korea is starving, and our government wants to cut off food programs! Of course If I were l'il Kim, I would fire off a few missles to make a political splash, and make noise. The US needs to open dialog, talk out the problems, and start feeding the people of North Korea. Waving our Nukes doesn't solve anything!