Small Fries In the Big Skies

Kim Jong Il and George W. Bush

Well, there is no real surprise here but a news bulletin on MSNBC News states that North Korea has announced it HAS nuclear weapons. Now everyone can deduce that they have had them for some time, and that the US and other European nations have realistically done nothing to stop them. This in itself is a terrifying prospect, but if we can get over the initial horror of news like this, and the simple fact that yet another "Small Fry" has developed nuclear weapons with the I'm a big boy too" mentality, we can maybe consider WHY this sort of thing is happening and WHAT may happen after...

To quote from the News story itself:

“We ... have manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration’s evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the (North),” the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea said Thursday its “nuclear weapons will remain (a) nuclear deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances.”

Obviously, the US has a different view. They figure they are the only nation in the world who may possess nuclear weapons (er, WMDs if you like) so they are insisting on the disarmament of these weapons and a halt put on further development. That being said, the summit of 6 nations that have been discussing the disarmament since 2003 (USA, Russia, China, Japan, North and South Korea) are all urging them to stop... well except the North Koreans obviously.

But why? Why do these countries insist on developing these horrendous weapons against the "Will" of the world? Regimes and governments aside, I fully agree that the US has been on a very aggressive and unjustified trend of war, in the name of "Terror", and it is only time before another nation (likely Iran or Syria) is invaded and occupied... So a deterrant yes. Would it do any good to have several of these weapons in the event that the US actually did invade? Probably not. But it can make many of these less powerful countries *feel* like a superpower. It happened in India and Pakistan not too long ago.

The same thing is happening in Iran right now. According to Reuters, they are preparing for a US invasion already...

"The Iranian nation does not seek war, does not seek violence and dispute. But the world must know that this nation will not tolerate any invasion," President Mohammad Khatami said in a fiery speech to the crowd in central Tehran.

"The whole Iranian nation is united against any threat or attack. If the invaders reach Iran, the country will turn into a burning hell for them," he added, as the crowd, braving heavy snow, chanted "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran on Wednesday that it risks U.N. action if negotiations with Europe over its nuclear program don't progress.

Rice said the United States had set no deadline on the Iran talks, but that they cannot go on forever. She added the Bush administration had not changed its view that the United Nations should step in to get tougher on Iran.

In Washington, President Bush said the Iranians needed to know that the free world was working together to send a clear message: Don't develop a nuclear weapon.

"And the reason we're sending that message is because Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a very destabilizing force in the world," Bush said.

"I think the message is there," Rice said at a news conference at NATO headquarters. "The Iranians need to get that message," she said, adding that Tehran should know that "there are other steps" the international community can take.

What is the answer? The more aggressive the US is in forcing it's idealism on these countries, the more aggressive these countries will be in their own policies. Regardless of my feelings towards the US Administration, we cannot allow more countries to develop these terrifying weapons. Our hands are tied.

I'm not sure what scares me more. It is terrible to think that some of these countries would have weapons like that, but I think I am more scared of what the US will do, and how these countries will react! We wait and hope there is peace some day because the last thing we want is more war...

"Two Suns In The Sunset" - Pink Floyd: The Final Cut

in my rear view mirror the sun is going down
sinking behind bridges in the road
and i think of all the good things
that we have left undone
and i suffer premonitions
confirm suspicions
of the holocaust to come
the rusty wire that holds the cork
that keeps the anger in
gives way
and suddenly it's day again
the sun is in the east
even though the day is done
two suns in the sunset
hmmmmmmmmm
could be the human race is run
like the moment when your brakes lock
and you slide toward the big truck
and stretch the frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the law anymore
and as the windshield melts
my tears evaporate
leaving only charcoal to defend
finally i understand
the feelings of the few
ashes and diamonds
foe and friend
we were all equal in the end

*** UPDATED ***

According to the latest News on MSNBC, the US has refused to hold direct talks with North Korea to defuse this issue. The US maintains that the talks must include neighbouring nations, but North Korea insists that there stockpile of weapons is only to for stopping a US invasion. If they are to remove the weapons and their program, they desire aid, an end to sanctions and a non-aggression treaty with the US.

In my opinion, the US will never bow to this. As shown time and again now, it is the "US way, or no way".