Sunday, April 5, 2009

Confronting Tyrants - Naivety Makes a Poor Weapon of Choice

Define irony: President Barak Obama speaks to Europe about his desire the denuclearize the world in way of weapons while North Korea simultaneously fires a test rocket over the Pacific Ocean.

"We have been talking about this since the Clinton administration, and they have been building nuclear weapons and building better and better missiles while we keep talking, and one morning like 9-11, there's going to be a big disaster and we're going to say, 'why didn't anyone think about that?'" -Newt Gingrich

You may not care too much for former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, but you cannot deny the reality of what he says. During the Clinton administration, the US sent so called humanitarian money to North Korea, and to no big surprise, the people of North Korea did not receive benefits from that aid. Strangely enough, during that same time period, North Korea revealed the greatest advancement in their weaponry since the Korean War. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to conclude that this timeline dosn't just make a coincidence; North Korea (Do I even need to insert the word, "probably," here?) used that money to develop their nuclear capabilities. The UN has imposed sanctions upon Iran for greater than 14 years, but the country's leadership hasn't changed direction in its efforts to strengthen their nuclear capabilities, and the sanctions hurt the people of Iran to a far greater extend that the country's leadership.

2006 Washington Post opinion article describing sanctions against Iran:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902003.html

2003 article criticizing Bill Clinton for his role in North Korea's nuclear program:http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/7/164846.shtml

North Korea and Iran persist as totalitarian regimes in the world. They don't persist as the only two either. They want to nuclearize, and while they may create the perception that they don't have those programs progressing, they have repeatedly demonstrated that they fully intend to continue to do so.

You cannot confront a bully with kindness, and bullies run these totalitarian regimes: Kim Jon Il and Ahmedenejad. When Obama announces his desire for the world to denuclearize, he naively thinks that he will create a world without nuclear weapons. While this may create a pleasing fantasy for free countries, it does not guarantee the non-existence of nuclear weapon programs across every corner of the globe whether conducted by North Korea, Iran, or another country or organization.


Imagine a world where Iran has a nuclear weapon and nobody else does. Think about freedom of speech and religion. Think about equality of women. Think about society as Americans know it.


We could find ourselves as ushering in a new era of totalitarian dominance if President Obama achieve what he wants.