"Sometimes appeasement is the only available policy.
I have nothing against it in principle, Mike. But you have to have a clear understanding of what you are doing. If you just ease into it as a way to get rid of the problem for now, without looking at the consequences, it could be fatal.
We never did have that discussion of Korea we planned for last Tuesday. This is the worst potential situation we have ever faced. Much more dangerous than the Cuban Missile crisis, IMO. And our Iraqi situation does not slow us down on what we can do, IMO. We are never going to commit troops to NK, so we really don't need anything we have committed to the ME. Any force used by us would be an Air and Sea Campaign. We have sufficient of each in the area to handle that, IMO.
The key problem is time. The NK has moved the plutonium to the processing plant. If we let time slide by they will process it and sell either the raw bomb material, or finished bombs. If we are going to use force against them, it must be in the next couple of months, after that, forget it.
I, or anyone here, can come up with all sorts of negotiated solutions on paper, but how do we enforce them? We are dealing with people who have broken the last deal we made with them. What is the basis for believing they will keep a new one. Inspections? Give me a break! They can easily evade them, and the "Cat is out of the Bag" with the plutonium having been moved already.
So we really do have a only two bad choices available. We can take out the reprocessing plant now, which will make it impossible for them to use the plutonium, and risk a local war in Korea, or we can pay them off, and hope they keep the agreement that both we and they know we can't really enforce.
If we do the second, as we seem to be headed toward, we put ourselves at real risk a few years down the line to be hit here. If we go now, at least we stop them before they are able to get at us here.
The other major factor are the world wide consequences of either decision. If we act now, we can use the same approach world wide. If we pay them off, then we are faced with paying off Iran, if we can, etc.
If anybody can see a realistic way out of these conclusions, I would like to hear it. But no "Rain Dances" about "negotiated inspections," or "Working with our Allies," as we have already had posted. This is just "Kicking the can down the road." |
