ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">North Korea&#39;s Global Blackmail</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright May 21, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style7">W</span>hen former President George W. Bush called Iraq, Iran and North Korea the  axis of evil in his Jan. 29, 2002 State of the Union speech, history has clearly vindicated at least two out of the three.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While no one liked Iraq s Saddam Hussein, the real menaces were Iran and North Korea, proven by well-documented actions, to be far greater threats to human rights and world peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While al-Qaida s Osama bin Laden and the Taliban s Mullah Mohammed Omar were not included in the  axis of evil, Bush elected to take the country to war against Iraq March 20, 2003.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Committing U.S. resources there undermined objectives in Afghanistan and prevented the U.S. from  walking softly and carrying a big stick in Iran in North Korea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Mired in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least currently, Bush prevented U.S. assets from confronting national security threats from Iran and North Korea.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>North Korea s March 26 submarine torpedoing of South Korea s 1,200-ton Warship Cheonan in the Yellow Sean near Baeknyeong Island killing 46 sailors constitutes and act of war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Calling the act  overwhelming and condemning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, reflected the vulnerable state of the U.S. military, spread so thin in Iraq and Afghanistan that it can t respond to provocative adversaries, other than with empty rhetoric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Condemning North Korea s aggression with Japanese Prime Minister Yokio Hatoyama in Tokyo, Clinton stopped short of urging immediate action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We agree that North Korea must stop its provocative behavior, halt its policy of threats of beligerance toward its neighbors, and take irreversible steps to fulfill its deuclearization commitments and comply with international law, said Clinton demonstrating a hogtied U.S. response.<![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Results on an exhaustive forensic analysis proved the South Korean ship was downed by a North Korean torpedo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>North Korea responded promptly calling the charges  fabrications, promising  all out war should South Korea or its allies respond militarily or diplomatically with new sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> North Korea s refusal to end its nuclear enrichment or ballistic missile program complicates the picture, where the U.S. and South Korea fear a possible conventional or nuclear attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Unable to halt North Korea s nuclear program, the Bush and now Obama administration find itself unable to contain the erratic Kim Jong-Il, whose repressive regime threatens world peace and global security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kim s latest threat of  all out war continues the same blackmail that has left North Korea a dangerous threat to world peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan hamstring U.S. options.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Kim knows, like Iran s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that the U.S. has become a  paper tiger because of current military commitments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unable to respond to Kim s provocations, the U.S. can only respond with symbolic gestures, fearing Kim s million-man army could easily cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ended in failure in 1953, the Korean War concluded with a weak  truce, without a real armistice or peace agreement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Thirty-five-thousand U.S. troops sit on the South Korean border helping maintain a tenuous peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Calling the recent report  deeply troubling, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reflected the same impotence in the face of North Korean aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threatening  all our war is taken seriously by the U.S. and South Korea, neither is in a position to go down that road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No ally in the region wishes to risk war with PRK.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>North Korean Kim s reported penchant for Beluga Caviar, Dom Perignon and American movies reveals the kind of eccentricity throwing caution to the wind about starting a new Korean War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Clinton knows that the U.S. can only respond with rhetorical flourishes, prompting a feckless responses from the U.N. Security Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Veto-wielding members, especially Russia and China, have no intent on siding with South Korea or its strong U.S. ally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  This act of aggression is on more instance of North Korea s unacceptable behavior and defiance of international law, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, again demonstrating the administration has run out of options other than placating Kim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Not one foreign government has called North Korea s attack an act of war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama urgently needs to wrap up conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to deal with emerging threats.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>U.S. foreign policy, begun with Bush s detour into Iraq from Afghanistan following Sept. 11, has left the country incapable of currently responding to provocation from Iran and North Korea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kim s maniacal regime blackmails foreign governments into acquiescing to his lawless actions threatening global security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Supplying Iran s radical regime with missile technology destabilizes the region, making the world far less safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> [North Korea s] actions will deepen the international community s mistrust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The attack demonstrates a total indifference to human life and a blatant disregard of international obligations, said British Foreign Secretary William Hague, reflecting the same international impotence that leaves North Korea to run amok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>As long as the U.S. wastes in power and assets in Iraq and Afghanistan, it can t show the kind of leadership to deal with real global threats.</p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>