Pirate's Cove

That was the cry during Bush’s time in office, correct? Anything that happened, no matter that it might have started prior to January 20, 2001, happened on Bush’s watch. September 11th, a date that will live as a missing day in liberal’s minds, such as they are, was plotted, planned, and implemented prior to Bush taking office. There was no actionable intelligence, thanks in large part to The Wall between intelligence and law enforcement, as well as treating the issue of terrorism as a law enforcement matter, but, since it happened while Bush was president, it was deemed to be 100% Bush’s fault by our counterparts on the left. So, this is all Obama’s fault

“North Korea has nuclear weapons, which is a matter of fact,” said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaking in Beijing.

He added: “I don’t like to accept any country as a nuclear weapon state but we have to face reality.”

Oh, good, the IAEA is going with “Surrender Plan A” as its first response.

The warning that North Korea is a full nuclear power came as Russia’s most senior diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, visited Pyongyang and warned that there is no sign of a easy solution to the North Korean crisis. The rogue state vowed to cease all negotiation and to restart its nuclear weapons programme after it was criticised by the UN Security Council for illegally testing a missile at the beginning of April.

“We do not foresee any breakthroughs,” he told Russia’s Interfax news agency after he held talks with the North Korean foreign minister, Pak Ui-chun. “This is a complicated process and we must not give in to emotions. We need to concentrate on the base we already have.”

And therein lies the problem: it has never be a simple issue. The Six Party talks never truly went anywhere, except where Kim Jong-Il wanted them to go. Sanctions have not worked, and will never work, because the population is cowed by the government, if not fully behind the cult of personality. Kim does not care if his people are starved by sanctions. He does not care if North Korea is considered a rogue state. In fact, he seems to revel in, and creates situations where the international community freaks out, and then he promises to be a good boy if the international community gives him X. Unfortunately, one the X’s was a nuclear reactor, which can produce weapons grade material.

But, stepping back using the “it happened on Obama’s Watch” talking point I stole from the Left, really, can he do anything? Is it his fault? Is it Bush’s fault? Doubtful, no, and no. This issue goes back to the mid-1980’s, and, as you can see from the timeline from the far left Center for American Progress, North Korea has been jerking the chains of the international community the whole time, no matter what tone any President has taken, and he keeps marching towards have not only nuclear weapons, but the ability to deliver them.

And, let’s not forget, as the original article points out, North Korea has the world’s largest artillery force, a good chunk which has Seoul, population 10 million+, in its sights.

Let’s also not forget how weak, ineffective, and inexperienced Obama has appeared on international affairs, as he goes on his Blame America Tour ’09. Not to mention taking North Korea off the terror list.