by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Oct. 17, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

masculated by North Korea, the U.S. finds itself unable to restrain its provocative nuclear testing, now doing the unthinkable: Relying on the United Nations Security Council. Before the U.S. hit Baghdad with Cruise missiles March 20, 2003, the U.S. rejected the findings of Dr. Hans Blix and his team of U.N. weapons inspectors, refusing to hand national security over to the U.N. Security Council. Multilateral diplomacy was almost considered treason, preferring to rely on intelligence from the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency. North Korea's Oct. 9 one-kiloton blast was confirmed by national security czar John D. Negroponte, revealing the presence of plutonium particles, something consistent with the type of radioactivity produced from reprocessing spent fuel rods at the DPRK's 20-year-old Yongbyon five-megawatt, carbon-graphite reactor.

      When President George W. Bush branded North Korea as part of the “axis of evil” in his Jan. 29, 2002 State-of-the-Union address, it wasn't too late to confront a global menace. When the U.S. chased the Taliban out of Kabul in Nov. 2001, it still wasn't too late to deal with maniacal North Korea. But after Bush decided to evict Saddam Hussein March 20, 2003 and rebuild Iraq, the resources and will to deal with Iran and North Korea were no longer available. Since launching the Iraq war, the White House insisted there were no trade-offs, including tying U.S. hands on Iran and North Korea. While the U.S. was bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea's unstable Chairman Kim Jong-Il and Iran's blustery President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went full steam ahead developing atomic bombs. Bush finds no option now other than the Security Council.

      When Kim detonated his first bomb and Ahmadinejad wouldn't relent on uranium enrichment, the White House turned to multilateral diplomacy. Before the Iraq war, it wasn't good enough, routinely trashing the U.N. as toothless and obsolete. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice led the U.S. charge toward tough U.N. sanctions. “I think it goes to say that that would further deepen the isolation of North Korea, and I hope they would not take such a provocative act,” said Rice, referring to the growing likelihood of a second nuclear test. Rice wants China and other U.N. members to enforce harsh punishment, when the reality is the Security Council approved watered down sanctions. China has no intention of intercepting, searching or interdicting North Korean ships, something essential to stopping proliferation. North Korea has already responded to the U.N., calling its resolution “a declaration of war.”

      Unlike the U.S. insulated by the Pacific Ocean, China, South Korea and Japan, and a host of other Asian countries, sit too close for comfort to the DPRK. South Korea lives in constant fear over another Korean war, especially now that Kim flexed his atomic muscle. Calling the U.N. resolution “a declaration of war,” North Korea promised retaliation should the Security Council begin tightening the screws. Kim said his regime “will deliver merciless blows without hesitation to whoever tries to breach our sovereignty and right to survive the excuse of carrying out the U.N. Security Council resolution,” vaguely threatening war. China, Japan and South Korea seek to avoid military confrontation at all costs. Only the U.S., removed by the vast Pacific, wants to bring down the hammer. Rice doesn't get that no other nation—including China—wants a military confrontation.

      Bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has already picked its battles. No other country wishes to provoke Kim's million-man army, not knowing how they'd stop a possible march on Seoul. With South Korea's vast wealth and industrial base, Kim knows that the South dreads military confrontation. Rice is dreaming believing that China, Japan or South Korea has the nerve to enforce tough sanctions, pushing the North too far. “Inspections, yes but inspections are different from interception and interdiction,” said China's U.N. ambassador Wang Guangya, proving China has no intention of pushing North Korea too far. There's no will or ambition to provoke Kim into lashing out, despite attempts to placate the reclusive tyrant. “I am not concerned that the Chinese are going to turn their backs on their obligations,” said Rice, still in denial over U.N. sanctions.

      Pressing for multilateral talks reveals U.S. impotence in the face of North Korea's nuclear standoff. Kim knows that China, Japan and especially South Korea can't stomach military confrontation, allowing him to blackmail the region into making more economic and political concessions. China has more clout with Kim due to North Korea's dependence on cheap oil and food. Like Iran's Ahmadinejad, Kim knows that nukes give him unlimited power to blackmail his neighbors. Nukes will keep Kim's supply of Beluga Caviar and Courvoisier cognac flowing, together with more materiel for his missile and bomb-making industry. "I don't think they would have voted for a resolution that they did not intend to carry through on," said Rice, hoping Beijing whips Kim into shape. Given the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has no choice other than the U.N.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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