North Korea Detonation Proves Bush Abject Failure
North Korea has detonated a small atomic bomb, currently estimated at between one quarter to nearly the size of the Hiroshima bomb.
NK has been working to towards this goal for over twenty years now. In 1994 Clinton used a variety of rewards and threats to significantly slow down the NK process. Since Bush has been in office, the US stance has been one of making hollow threats and insults towards NK. After Bush labeled NK, Iran and Iraq as the "axis of evil", and invaded Iraq, it has become obvious that any member of the evil fantasy group without WMD is subject to US invasion. Both NK and Iran have publicly stepped up their WMD buildup, and this morning's test explosion is proof of the failure of Bush policy.
NK still does not threaten the US homeland. It has no direct method to deliver a bomb, and even NK must know that it will be turned into a slag heap of green glass should it make such an attempt. Unless the US commits direct provocation against NK, an attack is extremely unlikely. But now, NK must be treated as one of the eight nuclear powers on the face of the earth.
The only fortunate aspect of this new member joining the club, is that it makes it more difficult for Bush to strike Iran. It would be difficult to ustify an attack on Tehran, because it would be impossible to make the case that a nuclear capable Iran is more dangerous than a nuclear capable NK.
Given the history of the past 5 years, it seems that George W Bush is more dangerous to the people of the US and the world, than Kim Jong-il is. The US desperately needs a new foreign policy. And that can only come with a change in leadership.
U.S. has approx 5700 active nuclear warheads...
...and approx 10,000 total. Surely WE can't allow NK to have ONE.
Besides the U.S. had NK, these countries have successfully test detonated a nuclear weapon: Russia, China, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India and France.
Below is a list of the number of nuclear warheads each country has:
Country Active Total
Russia 5,800 16,000
China 130 130
UK 300 300
France 350 350
India 75-115 75-115
Pakistan 65-90 65-90
North Korea 1-10 1-10
In addition, the following countries are 1)"suspected" of having nuclear warheads, or 2) previously had a nuclear program, or 3) have the materials available to produce one quickly:
- Israel -- 75-200
- Argentina
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- Egypt
- Germany
- Poland
- Italy
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Saudia Arabia
- South Korea
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Taiwan
So today on our one and only planet, nuclear weapons are possessed by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Communist nations. Though the only nation that has actually made a direct threat to any other nation in the last few years has been, um, wait, let me think -- well, US!!!!
Will NK possessing a nuclear weapon end the world? Which nation on the list above do you trust to have nuclear weapons? Right, not a one.
Don't get me wrong -- I love America. I'm an 8th generation American. I wouldn't leave it for anything (yet). But, since 2000 I just don't understand what has happened to our country. In 6 years the world's perception of us now is that we are international bullies. Pre-emptive strikes, threats against nations who have not threatened us -- Who are we and can we be saved?
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_nuclear_weapons
You've got a real point there
about the what's one bomb in a sea of bombs scenario.
And to futher your point about 'what's happened to America?' - browsing through the SFgate website, a fairly "liberal" online prescence, I saw a poll whereby 30+% of people voted that "military action" was the appropriate response to the nuclear testing.
Granted it's not exactly a scientific sampling of people, but I've seen enough of their polls to get some idea for the margin of error - and they usually lean on the less-conservative side - and it's just ghastly to consider that there could be anywhere near that many people who:
a) could still believe that "blowing shit up" is a viable and productive answer to international diplomacyb) can't count.
Exactly, who and what army is going to take on North Korea at this point? Seriously?)
Fearful people do not think straight
Indeed, the poll you cited proves that they think "crooked." We actually joked at work today that BushCo secretly agreed with NK to test detonate the bomb to distract from the Folely Folly.
So now, Bush has stepped in to scare the American people about the NK having ONE nuclear weapon, when he himself is in possession of the "suitcase" that controls 5,700 LONG-RANGE nuclear weapons. No wonder other countries he has defined in the Axis of Evil are scrambling to develop weapons. After all, they saw what happened to the first target in his Axis of Evil scenario, Iraq.
Frankly, we'll be lucky to live through this so-called presidency.
Flying by the seat of my rants...
What is everyone so damn afraid of.
That's what keeps going through my head. If the average person is that much of a coward and that open to being manipulated...well, they don't deserve their spinal system.
Give 'em to the jellyfish in that case.
Wondering the same thing
Like most people, I'm aware of the fact that there exists close to 30,000 known active nuclear warheads capable of destroying our planet. But knowing this, we still live our lives day by day and somewhere in the back of our minds we comfort ourselves with the "hope" that only sane people are in charge of those warheads. So my question is with the NK thing: Why should my anxiety level about nukes go from 2 to 10 because another country has joined the maddening fray to acquire nukes? Why? Shall we believe that somehow Kim Jong-il is crazier than other leaders? BushCo wants you to believe so.
In 1998, when Pakistan test detonated a nuclear weapon, Clinton's response was firm but not threatening. He appealed diplomatically to both Pakistan and India and did not make veiled threats. The world somehow learned to live with both Pakistan and India having nukes. Will we do so with North Korea? Or will we listen to BushCo and believe we are on the verge of nuclear holocoust? Everyone, including the media, should take a deep breath and put this in historical perspective.
Flying by the seat of my rants...
Fear and manipulation
"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." Albert Einstein
Man, that's a great quote.
Even got the spinal cord in there... :)
This comment is a mistake
that I can't delete! (Much like BushCo is!)
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints!
Miscomment or not
It is a sublime comment on BushCo.
Bush helped pay for NKs bomb
In 2002 BushCo released $95 million to NK in an agreement that would require NK to replace its own program that had weapon generating potential. The new program was to incapable of generating weapons grade nuclear material. In trying to pacify the North Koreans who were irked by being called part of the "Axis of Evil", Bush unacountably negotiated away the previously held right to have onsite inspections to determine if NK was keeping to its promises in not generating any weapons grade plutonium. Exactly why Bush gave up this obviously important control mechanism is not known, other than to provide an emolient for his diplomatic blunders.
Well, maybe there's one good thing to
come out of Iraq - Bush can't go engage in chest thumping with North Korea.
That's obviously not an exactly correct way to think about things, but the fact that George has spread himself so thin fighting shadows is one of the one things that lets me rest at night.