News on CNBC: NK says they have nukes, explicitly threaten to sell them to others; U.S. ends talks.
That didn't last long.
We seem to have reached the point where both sides rely entirely on Force and the Threat of Force, to achieve their goals. NK, I'm guessing, has decided that they are next on the Regime Change List, and the only way to prevent this is to have a Credible Deterrent. They have also decided, unfortunately, that WMD inspections are just a way-station on the road to Regime Change, because inspections in Iraq did not prevent our conquest.
One interesting thing here, is that it really doesn't matter whether NK actually has any nukes today. If the U.S. is uncertain, if there is any non-small possibility they aren't lying, we must act as if they do have WMD. Also, the thousands of artillery in range of SK's capital, are effectively a WMD. So, we are Deterred.
Looks to me, like this puts the South Koreans and Chinese in the controlling position. If they do what Rummy suggests, and put the pressure on NK, they can probably force a collapse of the NK regime. Just a cut-off of fuel and food would very shortly produce an untenable situation in NK. If they "go French", and decide on endless talk not backed up by a credible threat of action, then the NeoCon agenda for NK cannot be implemented. Same thing with a blockade, whether partial or total or "smart". Same thing with pretty much every response the U.S. might make. |
