Nuclear North Korea

North Korea claims to have conducted its first nuclear test after restarting its nuclear program after Bush withdrew from the 1994 treaty freezing North Korea's program. (N. Korea Claims Nuclear Test). President Bush calls this a "great threat."

Well, duh! Of course it is a grave threat that further proves that the Bush administration foreign policy is a complete failure. The one-size-fits-all "do what we say or else" foreign policy is a direct cause of North Korea's nuclear ambition.

Almost immediately after taking office, Bush completely backtracked on Clinton's accomplishments in stemming NK's nuclear ambitions. While Clinton's plan was far from optimal, it sure is a hell of a lot better than the current situation we are in now. In 6 years of the Bush White House, we have gone from a less than perfect solution to a utter break down in the situation.

The hard line approach to NK has not worked over the past 6 years. The only thing that a continued hard line approach will continue to do is make NK more and more desperate. A destabilized NK is the last thing that we could possibly want.

The U.S. is proposing additional sanctions against NK (U.S. Proposes Embargo, Sanctions on N. Korea). Well, let me get this straight - We had to invade Iraq because sanctions were not working and there were too many ways around it... But it will work for NK?

The U.S. wants to cut off all oil shipments from China to NK. So, when there is no oil, what other way is there for NK to produce power other than to ramp up its nuclear reactors?

The U.S. is demanding that it suspend all plutonium enrichment, but Bush refused to build the two heavy water nuclear reactors promised under Clinton, which materials could not be used for the production of a nuclear weapon. (Reported Test 'Fundamentally Changes the Landscape' for U.S. Officials)


NK wants assurances that the U.S. will not invade it the same way that it invaded Iraq... after all, it is in the axis of evil. But Bush refuses to deal with NK unless it stops all of its nuclear programs. But the only guarantee that NK has that the U.S. won't invade at this point is to increase its nuclear capacity. We know that Bush's goal is regime change. Obviously, this regime wants to stay in power. If you were NK, what would you do?

This foreign policy is a failure on so many levels. We need someone who can think logically in the White House. This is way too out of hand.