Mark Wonsil  wrote :
>Richard writes: > Isn't this the wrong way round.  As no one has found any
nukes (to my knowledge) there are no WMD, so  why is Bush so keen to go to
war.
>First answer: Summer is coming.
>Second answer: The same thing could have been said about N. Korea five
years ago.
Mark,
The US knew that N. Korea had nuclear weapons, at least one or two, back in
1994 when they negotiated the deal that just fell apart. These are the same
weapons that Rumsfield keeps talking about. No one accused the  N. Koreans
of creating nuclear weapons. The accusation was that they were attempting to
create new material, i.e. enriched uranium, to create nuclear weapons. They
have now started on a venture to enrich plutonium.
If we continue on our current course of diplomacy, they will indeed create
more weapons armed with enriched plutonium. Depending on which "expert"  you
ask, they may be able to make anywhere from 5 to 30 "bomb's worth" of
enriched plutonium a year. N. Korea is about impoverished as you can get,
has a track record of arms sales without regard to the purchaser's intent or
character, very little else to sell and almost nothing to lose in the world
public opinion arena. This scenario is truly frightening.
If the US does not engage the N. Koreans soon it may be to late. If the N.
Koreans have a number of nuclear weapons they may not be willing to
negotiate on what the US would call "favorable terms." If you are afraid of
"nuclear blackmail" now what is it going to be  like if they have more
nuclear weapons? After they have nuclear weapons and no reason not to use
them, it is not a good time to start a war, even by non-pacifist standards.
The US position that this is a regional issue and everybody needs to engage
is the international equivalent to the corporate CYA games. Nobody will take
responsibility for the project because they are afraid it might fail.
(shades of our favorite company and their approach to our favorite product)
The situation is like a toothache; ignoring it will not make it get better.

The N. Koreans are not playing by our rules. They do not appear to be
playing by any rules. The situation is not simple and the solution is not
easy. There are obviously more wrong paths then there are correct ones but
that doesn't mean that inactivity is productive. Just because you can't
dance in, declare victory and be showered and dressed for the sound bite on
the 6:00 o'clock news doesn't  mean you shouldn't take on the task.

I am not a diplomat, a general or a head of government so it easy for me to
have an opinion because my ideas don't make or break anything. I only hope
that those that hold the jobs of diplomat, general and governmental leaders
make the right choices. They are the ones that chose these tasks; now for
better or worse they are the ones that must deliver the goods.

Let Peace be the maxim by which we act because we will Peace to become a
universal law.
Work For Peace
The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of my
employer.
Yosef Rosenblatt

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