Suicidal Ideations

This post is also available at Blogger News Network

I’ve been yelling and screaming about Iran for so long now I’m starting to go hoarse. It’s pretty obvious that the strategy for US protection is to have a controlling interest in Middle Eastern affairs. I’ve been echoing the sentiments of many top officials for months that have said that the next target is Iran, possibly Syria. Most of the time I don’t even register North Korea on my radar because their threats against America to me have always been the temper tantrum of a dying country. One might say they have kept the world hostage by waiving potential nuclear missiles around and demanding that said world allow them to go on as they have been.

According to the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, “North Korea's missile development programs are primarily motivated by a desire on the part of the military factions in control of this program to earn foreign exchange through exports for their own profit and for the perpetuation of their power internally. Thus, in order to curb these programs, the United States would have to buy off the factions involved as part of a larger strategy of economic engagement, including the gradual phasing out of Korean War economic sanctions on non-strategic trade and investment. Negotiating meaningful restraints on missile development would require direct U.S. military contacts with the North Korean armed forces, which were proposed to me (Selig S. Harrison) in Pyongyang in September, 1995; to Kenneth Quinones of the State Department in July, 1996; to former Senator Sam Nunn and former Ambassador James Laney in their August, 1997 visit; and to Senator Carl Levin in his December, 1997 visit.

We’ve coddled and cajoled them, presumably under the notion that North Korea will be restrained by China and Russia and for the reasons stated above. You can imagine my shock when as I’m Google searching news items I come across this number from the AP:

North Korea on Tuesday refused to rule out a pre-emptive attack, even amid signs it may be willing to return to the nuclear bargaining table.

The North poured out anti-American rhetoric - a tactic it has used in the past before entering negotiations - by claiming that Washington's "hostile policies" led it to develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent and warning against any attack to dislodge its leadership.

"The United States should be aware that the choice of a pre-emptive attack is not only theirs," the North's official news agency quoted the state-run newspaper Minju Joson as saying. "To stand against force with force is our unswerving method of response."

Most assuredly there are folks whom were vehemently against the Iraq war saying in reference to North Korea, “Well you reap what you sow!” Many people believe that because of the “Bush Doctrine” of pre-emption, we have spooked N. Korea into high paranoia and they are blanketing themselves in nuclear arms as a deterrent against our mad regime. The question then becomes, “At what point does mutually assured destruction end and suicide begin?”

When I read the above article I began to research what has been written about N. Korea’s potential to launch an ICBM at American continental targets. According to a Reuters article written on April 28th of this year, “North Korea has the ability to mount a nuclear missile on a long-range missile and the communist state could hit U.S. territory, including Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said on Thursday.”

Some reports have North Korea’s nuclear potential as being quite high. “N Korea has deployed over 300 Nodong-x (medium range - Japan and Okinawa) and close to a thousand Scud-B/C missiles (short range - S Korea) all of which can carry nuclear or chemical warheads. NoDong-1's have a range of 1,300km and NoDong-2's have a range of 1,500-2,000km. N Korea is believed to have a limited number of Taepodong-x ICBMs (long range - America) hidden in underground tunnels.

The Taepo Dong-2 ICBM has a maximum range of 6,200 miles. The US DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) estimates that the missile has a range of about 4,650 miles with large nuclear warheads and 6,200 miles with smaller warheads. At the extreme of 6,200 miles, the missile could reach all major West Coast cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego,) and reach as Far East as Chicago.” (Kimsoft.com)

If there is more than a real hint that North Korea plans to lob a ballistic missile then the Korean Peninsula will cease to exist. According to latest issue of Executive Intelligence Review, “So as to remove any ambiguity from the Bush-Cheney nuclear madness, on March 15, 2005, the Pentagon placed on its public website a draft version of Joint Publication 3-12, "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations." This 69-page report made clear that the Bush Administration has fully integrated nuclear weapons into the conventional war fighting. The Executive Summary stated: "For many contingencies, existing and emerging conventional capabilities will meet anticipated requirements; however, some contingencies will remain where the most appropriate response may include the use of U.S. nuclear weapons. Integrating conventional and nuclear attacks will ensure the most efficient use of force and provide U.S. leaders with a broader range of strike options to address immediate contingencies. Integration of conventional and nuclear forces is therefore crucial to the success of any comprehensive strategy."”

The situation is a bit schizophrenic. In the same story you have the North Koreans threatening a pre-emptive strike while a paragraph later they are willing to return to talks. Are they stalling? What is the real intent here? I would like to believe as I have since Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech that Kim Jong-Il’s threats of nuclear war are nothing more than empty rhetoric. However, for him to think he can attack the US and survive is simply madness. It is suicide and surely he must know that. If he doesn’t then we’re in more trouble than I think we realize. There’s nothing more dangerous than a crazy person with suicidal ideations and nothing left to lose. Just ask the nearest Islamofacist.