<<...How could Mr. Bush convince the United Nations that Iraq must be confronted with military force immediately while North Korea, a confessed nuclear power, should be treated with patient diplomacy? And how do you continue working with the Pakistanis, the Russians and the Chinese, all of whom you believe helped North Korea in its nuclear ambitions in the 1990's?
Some argue that the White House should have seen trouble brewing. "The surprise is that anyone in the Bush administration should be surprised," said Representative Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who has argued for a tougher stance on North Korea. He said a letter he wrote the president asking about covert nuclear projects there got a brush-off.
The administration goal at this point is not to confront North Korea with a threat of force, as it is doing in Iraq, but to work with Russia, China, Japan and South Korea to send a parallel if less bellicose message to North Korea that it faces a stark choice: Disarmament or a total economic embargo, even by its old friends. "This is the model we should have applied to Iraq," said Representative Ellen Tauscher, a Democrat from California, who voted to support Mr. Bush on Iraq.
But it is unclear whether the allies will sign up, and that means this will inevitably test another part of Mr. Bush's grand strategy...>>
Dubya's policy of dealing with 'the axis of evil' is inconsistent and its becoming clear that there may be a more intelligent way to contain and disarm Saddam. |
