| Another
Rogue Leader
-Frank
Salvato
On Thursday North
Korea said it was immediately reactivating a nuclear power plant that
was suspected of being at the center of a 1990s weapons program, raising
concerns in a standoff at the world's last Cold War flashpoint. North
Korea's decision to restart the reactor which was decommissioned after
a crisis over alleged production of weapons-grade plutonium there escalates
a showdown with the United States over a second nuclear program being
pursued by the desperate, impoverished yet dangerous communist state.
While the rest of the world, the United States included for the most part,
is focused on Iraq, the arms inspectors and Saddam Hussein, we really
need to make sure that we do not become tunnel-visioned about the evils
at hand. There are a few other nations out
Kim Jong II
there that are not located in the Middle East that pose a threat to the
United States, it’s citizens and our freedom-loving way of life,
among them North Korea.
The danger that North Korea presents has been documented in the history
books. They are an aggressive country as was displayed during the Korean
War. During the Korean War they demonstrated exactly how brutal and cruel
their culture actually would allow them to be. Make no mistake, we may
be the last “Super Power” but our culture is far from being
tolerant of the pain that other cultures would endure to preserve their
way of life. This is a country whose leaders have opted to embrace the
Demilitarized Zone instead of crafting a treaty with their southern neighbor,
South Korea. They choose an armed “no-man’s land” instead
of peace and a potential free trade type of situation with their neighbors
to the south even though their ailing economy could benefit from such
a situation.
Another danger this country poses is that repeated reports over the years
have pointed out the leader of this country, Kim Jong II, could very well
be a bit mentally unstable. Of course without having an experienced mental
health provider examine the man we cannot know for sure but he has demonstrated
erratic behavior over the years. Due to the fact North Korea doesn’t
have free and open elections we cannot hear what the people of North Korea
think about the matter either. Not only is it a danger to have a complete
military force under the control of someone who may be mentally at odds
with reality (even if it is only occasionally) it is even more globally
menacing to know that he has nuclear capability as he has expressed in
the not too distant past. This makes Jong just as much a threat, if not
more of a threat, as Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and other leaders of
nations that embrace terrorism.
We here in the United States need to make sure that we are diligent in
our awareness so we do not focus exclusively on individual groups or nations
that threaten our freedoms and existence as a country and the existence
and freedoms of our allies. We need to make sure that we continue to maintain
“global” eyes that are devoid of preconceived notions of who
our enemies and allies are so that we can disseminate the facts and react
appropriately when confronted with the evils of the world’s rogue
groups and nations.
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