Appeasement Now and Before
Initially reports suggested the North Koreans fired a Daepondong I ballistic missile over Japan into the Pacific. Later State Department bulletins indicated it was merely an attempt to launch a satellite. Any way you look at it, many disturbing questions about American policy toward North Korea and stability on the Korean peninsula are raised.State Department spokesmen said firing a missile over Japan and into the Pacific did not violate a 1994 agreement freezing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, since this was ostensibly a satellite launch. However the failed satellite launch was tracked for 4000 miles into the Pacific Ocean, a range that could make Alaska and Hawaii vulnerable to a North Korean attack.Although it is not easy to determine motives, the launching of this missile may be designed for Iraq, Iran and Pakistan as much as South Korea. As the leading supplier of nuclear technology to rogue states, North Korea depends on these
dollars come rolling in?North Korean missile tests, even those not designed for satellite launches, may not be a causus belli, but they certainly should not be the cause for financial blandishments. sales for the only hard currency to be found in this largely impoverished nation. Perhaps Clinton's non-confrontational position will work, but as this nation refuses to build defenses against ballistic missiles due to the prohibition in the ABM treaty the present strategy would appear to be based largely on misguided good will. Most intelligence experts assumed North Korea has only single-stage missile technology. North Korea may not have challenged our interests yet, but the satellite launch clearly indicates it has the means to attack the U. The one thing rogue states and dictatorial leaders understand is weakness. The North Koreans may be facing technical problems for a long range missile, such as not having enough propellant for a third stage, but as former Pentagon officials noted this is not an insuperable problem if they are intent on delivering a first strike to noncontiguous parts of the United States. The launch also raises the ante in the "international game of chicken. President Reagan won the Cold War because he was willing to stand firm in the face of possible risk to American territory.
Common topics in this essay:
North Korea,
North Koreans,
North Korean,
Cold War,
North Korea's,
South Korean,
Pacific Department,
India Pakistan,
United Nations,
Department Asia,
north korea,
satellite launch,
north korean,
north koreans,
missile japan pacific,
missile japan,
nuclear plants,
missile tests,
japan pacific,
cold war,
|
Acceptance Essays
