It is a problem that has plagued presidents for decades and it is a problem that Barack Hussein Obama has inherited. For the last two administrations, our government’s prescription for the problem of the North Korean threat has been appeasement; I say appeasement and not compromise because while we gave them billions in aid in exchange for a suspension of their nuclear program, they never stopped developing nuclear weapons or missiles. It turned out that we were giving in to blackmail and the North Korean dictator understood the success of this formula: threats + weapons tests = billions in aid. What is different today compared to the last administration is the way we are treating North Korea. The last administration, for all its faults, made it absolutely clear to the world that North Korea’s dictator is EVIL. Can’t get more clear than that. Unfortunately, with our war on terror and the Iraq invasion, our ability to seriously consider the military option was diminished, especially when one takes into account the fact that many countries of the world made it a sport to oppose any US policy. So the Bush administration followed in the completely discredited footsteps of his predecessor, Bill, and adopted a policy of negotiations. Of course, few in the world gave him any credit for his multilateral diplomatic approach, like the Democrats were/are preaching, and in addition to being a failed policy, it was not even applauded (like Obama’s every move is applauded).

Which brings us to the Obama administration, whose foreign policy strategy was touted as “tough diplomacy.” The thing about “diplomacy” is that North Korea considers itself an expert at negotiation and therefore saw this president as a golden ticket to all of their desires. Once we understand this fact, we can understand the logic of North Korea’s moves and ultimately their motives. Like Carter before him, a soft approach to the Anti-American Axis that exists in the world only emboldens the enemy.

When Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, he reaffirmed America’s commitment to South Korea’s security as well as saying that the goal is the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Obama said that he would not reward North Korea for their threats and that their nuclear development was unacceptable. Bold words from a mild man… but, to North Korea’s rulers, they are utterly hollow. They know that Obama will not risk a war and that South Korea will not want to be wiped off the map. So North Korea will continue their tests, improving the range of their missiles so that they can hit the contiguous US mainland, improving their nuclear weapons, developing warheads, etc.

North Korean Poster

In the meantime, North Korea is holding two American journalists on the charges that they were participating in a “smear campaign.” They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for their slandering the North Korean regime. Obama did not make a mention of them in his remarks after meeting the South Korean president. Way to root for the team, Barack! While the president was talking tough about Korea, the Pentagon recently capped the number of interceptor missiles in Alaska and California, saying that there are enough in place already… but how do we accurately know how many long-range missiles North Korea has produced and hidden? If anything, this indicates to the North Koreans that we are truly not interested in any sort of conflict… just talk.

The more pressing threat of course is not merely the development of their conventional weapons, since we have been preparing for such a threat for most of the last century, it is the threat of nuclear technology and weapons falling in the hands of a nihilistic group, e.g. Al Qaeda. While we know that North Korea had help from the Pakistani nuclear program, what we do not know is how far does North Korea’s contact in the Middle East, Central Asia, or South Asia goes. Right now, the US is tracking a North Korean ship suspected of carrying weapons or technology. They insist that they will not forcibly board the ship because North Korea would view that as an act of war… so I wonder, what would we consider the transfer of North Korean nuclear weapons technology to Al Qaeda? An act of peace? We need to have the option of forcibly boarding and inspecting the ship… this is for the purpose of mankind’s security, not merely our own interests. Our policy of treating our enemies with kid gloves will only allow them to strengthen and eventually strike at us. For the Obama administration, the possibility of a mushroom cloud over an American city is not enough to persuade him to get a little tougher.

What I do not understand is how the current president Obama and former president Carter can nonchalantly express the desire that we negotiate with terrorists and tyrants when these terrorists and tyrants are actively looking for ways to kill Americans. Americans are being imprisoned abroad, used as bargaining chips, while world peace is threatened and the president offers us only words. Just words. Nuclear weapons cannot be allowed to fall in the hands of a suicidal terrorist group, not from North Korea nor Iran nor anywhere else. How far is the current president willing to go in order to ensure the survival of our nation and our civilization? From the looks of it, not far enough.

-AG