Iraq Operation Pays Korean Dividends
Mon March 31st, 2003 12:14 MSTThe critics who disingenuously argued for the US to ignore Iraq in favor of other threats like North Korea should have anticipated (as did the Administration) the impact of success in Iraq: ripple effects through rogue nations. It has already started.
The Chinese have finally begun to pressure North Korea. They have turned off the oil pipeline for three days recently. The Chinese are acting on their concerns that a nuclear armed North Korea could “destabilize” the region (meaning South Korea, Japan and possibly Taiwan becoming nuclear powers). They are also realizing, based on US determination and military power shown in Iraq, that if the US attacks North Korea, China will soon have a tiger on its border.
From this article:
Chinese officials may now be looking hopefully at the Iraq war - despite their official calls for it to end - to buttress their case with Pyongyang.
“When the administration started this war in Iraq, they sent a message to countries who have or have had conflicts with the U.S., a clear message: The U.S. is not a paper tiger, it’s a real tiger. And also that as a major power, the U.S.’s voice and principles should be listened to closely,” said Zhang Liankui, a Central Party School professor. “If the U.S. quickly finishes this war successfully, the North Koreans will be more cautious in the future.”
If the war goes smoothly, analysts say, North Korea may show greater willingness to talk with the United States alongside other countries, as Washington wants. But if the war goes badly, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may feel he has the upper hand with the Bush administration, since waging a war on the peninsula would be far more difficult for the United States than a conflict in Iraq.
“The North Koreans are highly interested in how this war is going to end,” Zhang said.
America will rule the world soon, God willing. Everybody will be an American. This will eliminate anti-Americanism once and for all. Anyone who questions America should be executed.
What an idiotic response, George, but to be expected from the anti-American crowd.