The North Korea Threat: Are US Priorities Straight?

The question has been posed that if North Korea restarts its nuclear development program, then should we move US efforts from Iraq to North Korea. General Wesley Clark, former NATO commander, thinks not. His point on this is right on. We have been through diplomatic channels with Iraq and continue to do so unless and until we go in militarily and remove Saddam Hussein. This is a mission worth accomplishing that we have the cooperation of the UN Security Council in the form of a unanimous vote to send inspectors in to Iraq and then if they are in "material breach" of the resolution that force can be used to uphold the UN resolution. A decisive victory in Iraq will send a message to North Korea, that the UN and the US and its allies will be a force for peace and stability in the world.

In North Korea, we are in the early stages of their breach of the 1994 agreement that was brokered by former President Jimmy Carter on the request of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright. These reputations are at stake and the current administration is aware of that. On a world stage, discrediting these people does not further our foreign policy goals. There are no party differences when we face the world.

There are players in the region that can facilitate diplomacy in China, Japan and Russia. China needs to clean this up as it is a mess of their own making in their own back yard. However, the Russia connection is an interesting one. This is the time for a little "front page diplomacy" and pressure from the world community.

Russia is one of the few countries that have friendly relations with the United States and President Bush, especially as well as having business and diplomatic dealings with both Iraq and North Korea. This is a time for "trust but verify" when dealing with the Russians. They want to be a player in whatever ultimately happens and they want to be on good terms with the United States.

The China relationship is similar. Without assessing blame on how they got the missile technology and how they "shared" it with their neighbors, they have a reason to keep North Korea under control. They are fashioning a US style economy with their business moguls taking western names and running western style companies. They are Communist governmentally, but the economic side of China is becoming more and more powerful and they want to be included, not excluded in world economic growth.

So the short answer on North Korea is that the leader there is unstable at best and we have a number of players in the region that either share our concerns or need us enough to further our agenda. Diplomacy is the way, now and after Iraq is resolved, we can see where we are with North Korea.


Martha Zoller hosts The Martha Zoller Show on WDUN AM 550 in Gainesville, Georgia and a regular panelist on Fox 5 Atlanta's The Georgia Gang. She is frequently seen on CNN and The Fox News Channel on a variety of issues.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/2/183254