A satircal take on the North Korea situation by Mark Fiore. Watch the full animation at http://www.markfiore.com/animation/dictator.html
Does anyone else sense the fabric of the global community
unravelling?
The Bush administration fervently believes that it can ditch,
delay, tear up or ignore international treaties and international
law that it disagrees with. Now we see the first sprouts of those
recklessly sown seeds. If the US doesn't abide by the rules, other
states certainly won't.
Bargaining chips
That's just what North Korea is doing now. In 1994 it used its
plutonium program and its nuclear weapons potential as a bargaining
chip to get aid from the US. In exchange it claimed to have stopped
its plutonium program. The US helped set up the deal for two
nuclear reactors in North Korea which were "less likely" to be used
for making nuclear bomb material, threw a bit of oil into the deal,
and turned its back on the problem. The company that won the
contract for the new reactors, ABB, just happened to have staunch
war-monger and currently US 'defence' secretary Donald Rumsfeld on
its board at the time of the deal.
It looks like North Korea is using its suspected nuclear weapons
program as a bargaining chip again, hoping to profit from the
dangerous, destructive power any nuclear state can wield. But,
having declared North Korea as officially a part of the 'axis of
evil' George Bush may make it the next stop on the world 'war on
terror' tour.
Threats to world peace
The biggest world powers are reluctant to face the fact that
every country with nuclear material can pose a threat to world
peace. Because of that, we see the quickening of arms races not
just in the Korean Peninsula but between India and Pakistan, secret
weapons programs of Israel in the Middle East and supposed
solutions like the unproven, hideously expensive Star wars system -
more conventional weapons to try and shoot down other nuclear
weapons. Without strong international laws to rid the world of
weapons of mass destruction the spread of weapons remains
unchecked.
Rather than bombs for peace and missiles for defence, the real
solution is for all countries to work together to rid the world of
the nuclear threat. The next chance for this is approaching fast
when, at the end of April, 187 states will gather for talks on the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty aims to prevent the
spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.
Rogue states?
Unfortunately, the US and other states holding nuclear weapons
will have a difficult time pointing a finger at "rogue states"
given that they're not in compliance themselves with a few of the
Treaty's more annoying requirements: that they formally end nuclear
weapons testing with a ratified Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty, that they pursue nuclear disarmament, etc. etc. etc.
North Korea should be urged to rejoin the treaty as a non
nuclear power by all states. In turn the US government should truly
commit to a world free of nuclear terror by helping to strengthen
rather than undermine the Treaty. Only then will we really have a
more peaceful world. Make law not war!