Do you recall in March how the Cheonan, a 1,200-ton corvette, was sunk by a North Korean torpedo? According to the BBC:
"The patrol vessel, with 104 people aboard, sank after an unexplained explosion tore through its hull.
Several sailors also died, officials are quoted saying as divers prepared to return to the scene after daybreak.
South Korean officials played down earlier reports that it may have been the result of an attack by North Korea."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8589507.stm
Oh, yes, the old unexplained explosion in the hull . . .
And now, try to remember Obama's personal response to this outrage? Whoops! That's right: Always anxious to avoid a potential confrontation, Obama didn't react. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps. Three months after the incident Obama did say that North Korea should be "held to account" for the sinking of the Cheonon, and, "There has [sic - he was speaking without a teleprompter] to be consequences for such irresponsible behaviour" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10426209). Yet, was North Korea ever "held to account"? What exactly were the "consequences"?
Obama rode into office believing that North Korea and Iran were simply misunderstood. Show them kindness and radiate the charm that brought him into the Oval Office, and they, too, could be turned around.
Unfortunately, the world doesn't work on this basis.
Remember the bully from school who demanded your lunch money? If you stood up to him on day one, he subsequently pursued weaker quarry. Heck, you didn't even have to fight. But if you were foolish enough to believe that he was just a poor misunderstood child from a dysfunctional family and attempt to befriend him, you would be going hungry for the remainder of the year.
Obama, in his infinite wisdom, never learned this lesson. Quite the contrary: One of his first foreign policy moves was to seek rapprochement with Iran, and this has blown up in his face.
But imagine now if Obama continues to appease the Islamic Republic of Iran. What will happen when Iran, armed with atomic weapons, shells territory along its disputed border with Iraq in a manner akin to that of North Korea? Or when Iran demands dominion over Bahrain? Or when Iran threatens Saudi Arabia?
Far-fetched? Just wait.
I know what will happen. Hillary will say that "Iran does not live up to our expectations".
ReplyDeleteHowever, Obama is not a pacifist. He does not mind to bully Israel just to please Arabs and Iran: Israel does not threaten USA. Muslims do. So, Obama has nothing but contempt for Israel, and all the respect for Muslims.
a valid point - NK and Iran, except that NK is really a de facto colony of China, and no one can do anything except China. This is the best, and worst, example of the failed concept of frozen conflicts.
ReplyDeleteMy recommendation is for Obama to ask China to annex NK and turn it into a mining province. No one would mind except for the Kims.
After all, does China want NK to threaten Beijing with "more rice or we nuke YOU"??
I guess the U.S. could tell China that Iran's nuclear facilities will get bombed if China does not deal with NK. But probably not the best approach with China to threaten their oil supply. One would think that China2010 does realize it is not Mao1952.
K2K