The lack of outrage against North Korea's underground missile test and subsequent short to medium range missile tests has been unsettling. The media has reported, then dismissed these attacks in favor of cultural and entertainment news. On the forefront of the Obama Administrations foreign policy is the commitment of troops to Afghanistan and the quick withdrawal from Iraq. The imminent threat of attack from North Korea and their proven nuclear power has been addressed, but largely ignored. Amid this global economic downturn it is easy to adapt economics as foreign policy ahead of perceived or even imminent threats. North Korea should be, and may have been in the past, dealt with swiftly and strongly.
Today the Administration feels its economic relationship with China may be more important than a nuclear threat. A fragile situation has developed: an empathetic U.S. president who puts security second, and a genocidal dictator with nuclear weapons, with ties to a dependent economy. The security of America and its allies should not be measured by a foreign economic market. It should be dealt with severally despite economic consequences.
On the other side, the Chinese government who provides most food, supplies, and weapons to North Korea should have a dissenting minority pressuring its own government to force North Korean disarmament. After the October 2006 nuclear tests China played an influential role in the six-party talks, urging North Korea to drop its nuclear program. With the growing dependence of the U.S. on the Chinese economy it is no longer feasible for the United States to dictate to China and its allies.
With an empathetic U.S. president, China and North Korea are pushing to the brink, taking advantage of both a weak economy and a president fearful of taking a stand on security. The decision to take action against North Korea should be based on security and principal, not empathy and economics. The media and the citizens should be outraged on the politics that govern the safety of the United States.
Joshua Baker
Weedsport
On the other side, the Chinese government who provides most food, supplies, and weapons to North Korea should have a dissenting minority pressuring its own government to force North Korean disarmament. After the October 2006 nuclear tests China played an influential role in the six-party talks, urging North Korea to drop its nuclear program. With the growing dependence of the U.S. on the Chinese economy it is no longer feasible for the United States to dictate to China and its allies.
With an empathetic U.S. president, China and North Korea are pushing to the brink, taking advantage of both a weak economy and a president fearful of taking a stand on security. The decision to take action against North Korea should be based on security and principal, not empathy and economics. The media and the citizens should be outraged on the politics that govern the safety of the United States.
Joshua Baker
Weedsport
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Post your comment - click hereThere are 3 comment(s)
movedsouth wrote on Jun 21, 2009 1:16 PM:
Here's a good youtube on spending since 1900.
This is a differant way of looking at the debt, it quickly shows where we are headed under the current administration . At the current spending rampage we are headed for a crash!!!!!
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> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5yxFtTwDcc "
movedsouth wrote on Jun 21, 2009 1:04 PM:
owastocat wrote on Jun 21, 2009 11:21 AM:
Working with China to influence N. Korea makes better sense than war. Bush ignored the problem because he knew they were a real threat, unlike Iraq. (Easier to pick on a the little guy). The threat of a nuclear war is real with real ramifications.
Thanks to the Bush policies, our economy has tanked, placing us in a very precarious situation with the world. President Obama is doing what he thinks is right to bring it back. Spend more while cutting taxes for the last 8 years was stupid. Although 9/11 hurt us financially, so did bad decisions such as the unnecessary war in Iraq. We need to regain world respect lost after the Bush regime.
I fully support President Obama to turn this country around with wise decisions, and he’s taking a cautious stance with N. Korea and Iran. "