Legitimacy
North Korea makes the headlines again, this time for testing a nuclear bomb underground. While I’m not happy to see the proliferation of nuclear weapons I continue to be impressed with the hypocrisy provided by the United States leadership. Legitimacy of smaller third world nations seems to depend on how much they are willing to be bullied by the United States which definitely leaves North Korea out of the circle of accepted nations. Israel has an estimated 300 nuclear warheads yet because Israel is, for the most part, our “special” partner in crime, indeed is dependent on the monies we send them for their military, you never will hear a peep about it from Washington.
Never mind that we are the only nation to have ever used atomic bombs against civilian populations as it is a given that only the United States and its go-along-for-the-ride allies may decide which nation is legitimate enough to have nuclear weaponry. Here is what Obama oh-so predictably said regarding North Korea’s latest transgression against the legitimate world…
Link
President Barack Obama called the test a matter of grave concern to all countries. "North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community," he said in a statement. "North Korea's behaviour increases tensions and undermines stability in north-east Asia."
He added that North Korea's behaviour would serve only to deepen the country's isolation. "It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery," he said.
The short quote above is rife with hypocrisy piled on top of hypocrisy. Who challenged the international community with reckless abandon when it illegally invaded Iraq? Who, even as Obama spoke, is undermining stability from Africa to South Asia and everything in-between? Clue; it wasn’t and isn’t North Korea.
This, in a way, is part of the problem with our continued pursuit of global domination. Is it unreasonable to assume that our use of military force in defiance of international law has scared more than one third world nation as they watched the U.S. invade Iraq? Is it any wonder that some nations might be arming themselves imagining they are next on the list of a people to be “liberated?” Did the United States provide stability when our government applauded the vicious attack against Gaza by Israel? But then again what Obama said is exactly what I would have expected him to say. He is living up to my expectations and then some. Obama is like totally legit.
posted by Unknown @ 7:56 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Even though you don't say this directly, it occurs to me that North Korea is in no great danger from the West precisely because they now have nukes, as opposed to Iran, which does not.
It also occurs to me that the obvious solution to the Korean nuclear dilemma is Korean unification, possibly as a constitutional monarchy. If North Korea's leader is as vain as is commonly believed, surely the South Koreans could offer to make him Emperor of a unified Korea, a ceremonial leader with no power but a swanky palace and the opportunity to appear as the leader at parades and numerous other functions.
In exchange, the South Koreans would run the whole country, possibly after buying out numerous NK generals and other high level bureaucrats with fat pensions and upscale summer homes in the south.
Or we could just threaten them vaguely, like Obama does. I like my idea better, but what do I know.
Jonathan,
While it is without doubt true that North Korea with a nuclear weapon would be safer from Western intervention than a North Korea without a nuclear weapon it isn’t at all clear to me that the nuclear test was conducted for that reason. Others have made a case that it is more due to North Korean politics than anything else. I would point out that there is a huge difference between testing a nuclear bomb and building one that is capable of being fitted to a missile. In other words I emphatically do not believe that North Korea is actually a problem. Others point out that this is part of a pattern where North Korea shoots a missile or whatever in order to receive aid from the U.S., basically blackmail money to behave. So take your pick but I believe that to consider North Korea a threat to the world as depicted by our leaders and news media is patently ridiculous.
At any rate my post was intended to be more about our own hypocrisy using the overblown reactions of Obama as a vehicle than the actual incident itself.
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