North Korea Got the Message
09 October 2006 12:32 am by Taylor Marsh
The first-ever nuclear test in
North Korea has reportedly gone off and it happened on George W. Bush's
watch.
Got nukes? You're not invaded. The president's policy of preemption sent out
the word.
Now let's move to the periphery. Check out Sean
Paul's primer that lays out the region. Ian's
take. Here's Billmon.
Josh Marshall. Now I'll give you mine.
They're going to blame Bill Clinton. Democrats can't keep us safe, etc. You
know the drill. The wingnuts are going to say the 1994 Agreed Framework didn't
work and the North Koreans develped nuclear material anyway. Doesn't fly. Colin
Powell agreed with the Framework, which the North Koreans cheated on, but it
was better than war, which was very close back in 1994. Clinton also shut down
North Korea's ambitions before the bombs started flying. That was then.
On October 21, 1994, the United States and North Korea signed an agreement-the
Agreed Framework-calling upon Pyongyang to freeze operation and construction
of nuclear reactors suspected of being part of a covert nuclear weapons program
in exchange for two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors. The agreement
also called upon the United States to supply North Korea with fuel oil pending
construction of the reactors. An international consortium called the Korean
Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was formed to implement the
agreement.The Agreed Framework ended an 18-month crisis during which North Korea announced
its intention to withdraw from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT),
under which North Korea committed not to develop nuclear weapons. (See ACA's
Chronology of U.S.-North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy for more information
on U.S.-North Korean nuclear relations.)
Enter Bush. All things Bill Clinton were bad. It set the stage for what happened
in North Korea today.
Bush chose to ignore Pyongyang, then said he'd engage, then taunted them by
putting them in the “axis of evil.”
The most recent nuclear crisis began when Washington announced that Pyongyang
admitted during an October 4, 2002 bilateral meeting to possessing a uranium-enrichment
program, which could be used to build nuclear weapons and would violate North
Korea’s commitment to forgo the acquisition of such weapons. North Korea
has denied that it said this. In response to the reported admission, KEDO
suspended oil shipments to North Korea the next month. North Korea reacted
December 12 by announcing that it would restart the nuclear facilities governed
by the Agreed Framework. After a series of exchanges with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IAEA inspectors left the country December 31
after Pyongyang expelled them. North Korea announced on January 10, 2003 that
it was withdrawing from the NPT, effective the next day. Pyongyang’s
official status with the treaty remains ambiguous. (source)
Next Bush stiff armed any negotiation whatsoever, because that was just too
Clintonesque.
Bombs away was Bush's way, which was proven through Iraq. Pyongyang responded.
Meanwhile, the country that helped arm North Korea, Iran, Syria and enter
your country of choice here has not been held accountable for A.Q. Khan's
nuclear networking that is still going on. But now there is no turning back.
… The Bush administration rebuffed North Korea's calls for bilateral talks
to solve the crisis, instead pushing for an international framework that forced
the North to the bargaining table with the United States, but also China,
Japan, Russia and South Korea.Monday's test, analysts said, provided unmistakable evidence that the six-party
framework had failed, leaving Washington and its partners in the region now
facing the profoundly more difficult task of disarming a state that has already
fulfilled its nuclear ambitions. No nation that has successfully conducted
a nuclear test has ever been persuaded to give up the weapons through diplomacy,
sanctions or other means. …N.
Korea Claims Nuclear Test
Geologists in the South Detect Man-Made Blast
Ignoring enemies means bad things happen. Proud countries with leaders who
own dangerous toys will move if not engaged. Foreign policy schizophrenia doesn't
work either. If threatened, leaders will react out of anger, insult and even fear. Pick one. However, the results are still the same.
Bush has failed utterly and completely, with the American foreign policy free
fall now complete.
Iran, you're up. We're screwed.
