Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Bush's credibility was further eroded when it was revealed that he signed an Iraq war plan on August 29, 2002 showing clear premeditation and proving that 9/11 had zero influence on the administration's plans to invade a sovereign nation that in no way threatened the safety of the United States.

Prior to the invasion of Iraq, Bush insisted that war could be avoided if only Saddam would disarm. But according to a secret report from the Pentagon, on Aug. 29, 2002:

Mr. Bush "approves Iraq goals, objectives and strategy... That was eight months before the first bomb was dropped and six months before he asked the U.N. Security Council for a war mandate that he never received."

Three months earlier (late May), the Pentagon began a series of war exercises called "Prominent Hammer" to judge whether the force could win in Iraq and still maintain a deterrent in other theaters, such as South Korea. (now we know that we cannot as thousands of troops are slated to be extracted from the peninsula)

Step 65) - 09/12/2003

Iran, a member of the Bush 'Axis of Evil' which also includes North Korea, accused the Bush administration of having new invasion plans after Iraq. Although, the officials were clearly referring to Iran, North Koreans could hardly have noticed that they would be included by default.

It is this lack of credibility, this lack of trust in the administration's ability and desire to solve differences diplomatically that puts other nations on a footing to defend themselves from the offensive posture of the Bush administration.

The accusation came as Iran's delegation stormed out of a closed-door meeting with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog that set Iran an October 31 deadline to prove it had no secret atomic weapons program. The toughly worded resolution gives Iran -- branded by Washington last year as part of an 'axis of evil' with pre-war Iraq and North Korea -- one last chance to prove it has been complying with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)....a treaty that the Bush administration abandoned long ago.

Step 66) - 09/15/2003

In a show of global military dominance, the Bush administration announces the largest military budget since the Korean war -- $466 billion - over 89 times as much spent by North Korea ($5.2 billion FY 2002).

Step 67) - 09/15/2003

Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned that Japan would attack if North Korea aims its missiles at the island. He stressed his country's right to a first-strike on North Korea if they thought an attack was imminent.

Shigeru: 'The Japanese constitution permits my position. Attacking North Korea after a missile attack on Japan is too late. If North Korea orders its military to send a missile to attack Japan and the missile is raised to vertical in preparation for launch, then Japan will assume that an attack has begun and has the right to attack that particular missile launch site. What else can the missile be used for but to attack us?'

Intelligence officials estimate that North Korea has at least 100 Rodong ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan.... The hawkish Mr Ishiba, who has earned a reputation for pushing the limits of Japan's debate on defense since taking office almost a year ago, has made clear he favors a much tougher stance than his predecessors toward Pyongyang.

Step 68) - 09/17/2003

A report emerges that says the Bush administration is preparing plans to use a nuclear weapon - possibly on North Korea. Reports also show that Bush circumvented congress with its order to develop 'mini-nukes'.

"Swomley, who teaches Christian ethics at the St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, has authored an indictment of the Bush administration's foreign policy that includes actual plans to use nuclear bombs as pre-emptive weapons. It is essential, he says in a magazine article, for Americans to understand that the administration has directed the military to prepare plans to use nuclear weapons against at least seven countries - China, Russia, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Libya and Iraq... Swomley quotes defense budget analyst Bill Donahue, who says that the United States is spending roughly $5.8 billion on nuclear weapons this year and that the Los Alamos National Laboratories have been told to begin developing 'earth penetrator' mini-nukes even before seeking permission from Congress."

Step 69) - 09/20/2003

Heightening tensions on the Pacific rim, a hawkish panel in Japan calls the 'antiwar' Japanese constitution an 'obstacle'.

"In light of the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, the government should alter its interpretation of the Constitution and allow Japan to exercise the right of collective defense, according to a report compiled Thursday by an advisory panel to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi. 'The government's interpretation of the Constitution, barring the country from exercising the right of collective defense, is an obstacle,' the report says. It notes that many security experts believe Japan should change its interpretation to preserve the nation's peace and security. Touching on Japan's vow that it will 'not produce, not possess and not allow nuclear weapons into the country,' the report claims that the third principle is effectively violated by the port calls of U.S. ships carrying nuclear arms. Rather than clinging to these principles, however, Japan should explicitly allow U.S. vessels of this kind to call at Japanese ports, given the situation in North Korea, the report says."

Step 70) - 10/23/2003

It is revealed that Donald Rumsfeld led a 'Team B' for North Korea , a project designed to distort intelligence for political purposes.

The latest "Team B" is William Luti's Office of Special Plans (OSP), which manipulated intelligence to make a bogus case for the Iraq War. The blueprint for this scheme originated back when Bush Sr. was CIA Director. He appointed a "Team B" commission under Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz that exaggerated the Soviet Threat. The "Team B" model was integrated into the bureaucracy of the CIA during the Reagan Years. Unmentioned in this report is that Rumsfeld has headed other Team B's, such as one on North Korea during the Clinton years.

Step 71) - 11/08/2003

The Bush Administration learns what happens when you alienate your allies and the world. In so doing, Bush put our nation at greater risk of isolation and limited our options in dealing with North Korea and other global hot spots.

"Turkey said Friday that it was withdrawing its offer to deploy troops to help stabilize Iraq. The decision ended a lengthy and almost entirely futile effort by the Bush administration to solicit large numbers of foreign troops to bolster the American presence. With the announcement, the administration's effort, presented by the president in early September, appears to be close to a complete failure. India and Pakistan both have declined, at least for the time being. South Korea has said it may be willing, but is concerned about reducing its own troop levels at a moment of heightened tension with North Korea. Japan has approved sending some troops for noncombat missions, but has yet to deploy them. There are 24,000 non-American troops in Iraq, but almost half of them are British, and few countries have agreed in recent months to join the effort."

Step 72) - 11/08/2003

The CIA warned that North Korea has missiles capable of reaching the continental United States.

"The CIA is sounding a new alarm that North Korea may be ready to flight test a nuclear capable multi-stage missile capable of reaching parts of the United States... The agency said in previous reports that in a regular two-stage set up, the Taepo Dong-2 could deliver a payload of several hundred kilograms to Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the continental United States. In an adapted three-stage configuration, the Taepo Dong-2 could in theory ferry a warhead to anywhere in North America. North Korea has said it will stick to its missile moratorium until the end of this year, but yet to commit to extending it into next year."

Step 73) - 11/25/2003

Bush weakened the U.S.'s position in the Korean crisis. While North Korea threatened nuclear war, the Bush administration planned troop pullouts from the Korean peninsula to provide relief troops to Iraq.

"The Washington Times quoted unnamed military officials as saying that soldiers currently stationed in South Korea could soon find themselves in Iraq or Afghanistan. The paper said Washington was also planning to move most of the 7,000 people in its headquarters in Seoul out of the capital within a year... In a statement last week Rumsfeld and South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-Kil reaffirmed a plan to withdraw US forces from camps near the frontlines with North Korea. Rumsfeld insisted any pullback would not weaken the US stance against the Stalinist state. 'We understand weakness can be provocative, that weakness can invite people to do things that they otherwise would not be inclined to consider,' Rumsfeld said. South Korea and the US last Monday agreed to a phased pullback of some 15,000 troops close to the border with N Korea. The move is part of a sweeping reorganization of US troops across the region, including the 47,000 soldiers based in Japan."

Step 74) - 11/25/2003

Vice President Cheney sabotages Korean negotiations and undermines Pyongyang's trust.

"George Bush talked with Chinese President Hu Jintao by telephone at the weekend after revelations that [Cheney] had derailed diplomatic preparations for new talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons... The Knight-Ridder newspaper chain said a senior official had quoted Mr Cheney as telling the meeting: 'I have been charged by the President with making sure that none of the tyrannies in the world are negotiated with. We don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it.' The re-emergence of the word 'evil' and talk of defeat - recalling Mr Bush's January 2002 speech linking North Korea with Iraq and Iran in an 'axis of evil' - is likely to make the North Koreans even more distrustful of promising anything ahead of hard guarantees from the US and its allies... Diplomatic momentum is unlikely to rebuild for several weeks, unless Mr Bush's phone talk indicates the issue has been taken over Mr Cheney's head"

Step 75) - 12/31/2003

Neoconservative hardliners demand global war. The demands are consistent with those purported by the Project for a New American Century, an organization whose membership has included at one time or another Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton and the author of these demands - Richard Perle.

"George W Bush was sent a public manifesto yesterday by Washington's hawks, demanding regime change in Syria and Iran and a Cuba-style military blockade of North Korea backed by planning for a pre-emptive strike on its nuclear sites. The manifesto, presented as a 'manual for victory' in the war on terror, also calls for Saudi Arabia and France to be treated not as allies but as rivals and possibly enemies. The manifesto is contained in a new book by Richard Perle, a Pentagon adviser and 'intellectual guru' of the hard-line neo-conservative movement, and David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter. They give warning of a faltering of the 'will to win' in Washington. In the battle for the president's ear, the manifesto represents an attempt by hawks to break out of the post-Iraq doldrums and strike back at what they see as a campaign of hostile leaking by their foes in such centers of caution as the State Department or in the military top brass."

Step 76) - 02/09/2004

Inconsistencies in Bush's foreign policy sends a mixed message of objectives but a clear message of weakness as Bush gives Pakistan a pass on selling nuclear secrets.

"Abdul Qadeer Khan, the chief designer of Pakistan's atomic weapons, confessed on television to selling his work through an international black market and claimed he acted alone -- contradicting his previous implication of Mr. Musharraf and other top generals. Yesterday Mr. Musharraf duly pardoned him, called him a hero and declared that Pakistan would not supply documentation to the International Atomic Energy Agency or admit its investigators... What's hard to believe is the Bush administration's reaction to it. Rather than moving to impose sanctions on Pakistan -- action that might be expected for a government that has been caught providing the technology for nuclear weapons to such countries as Iran, Libya and North Korea -- it has swallowed his cover-up and even congratulated him on it."

Step 77) - 02/09/2004

Greg Palast reminded the world that Bush spiked a probe of Pakistan's A.Q. Kahn. Had the Bush administration done their job back then, North Korea might not now be in a position to declare nuclear capabilities. According to Greg Palast:

"On November 7, 2001, BBC TV and the Guardian of London reported that the Bush administration thwarted investigations of Dr. A.Q. Khan who this week confessed selling atomic secrets to Libya, North Korea, and Iran. The Bush Administration has expressed shock at the disclosures that Pakistan, our ally in the war on terror, has been running a nuclear secrets bazaar. In fact, according to the British News Team's sources', Bush did not know of these facts because, shortly after his inauguration, his National Security Agency (NSA) defectively stymied the probe of Khan Research Laboratories. CIA and other agents could not investigate the spread of 'Islamic Bombs' through Pakistan because funding appeared to originate in Saudi Arabia... According to both sources and documents obtained by the BBC, the Bush Administration 'Spike' of the investigation of Dr. Khan's Lab followed from a wider policy of protecting key Saudi Arabians including the bin Laden Family."

Step 78) - 02/17/2004

Once again showing favoritism to a nuclear dictatorship, the Bush administration gave a pass to the defiant Musharaff.

"Pakistan's President has vowed never to allow the UN nuclear inspections agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, into the country despite admitting that the man behind its nuclear weapons program sold nuclear know-how and equipment to three of President Bush's so-called axis of evil states - Libya, Iran and North Korea. President Pervez Musharaff yesterday pardoned the scientist, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man credited with giving Pakistan a nuclear capability to mirror that of India's. And in a robust note of defiance, the military dictator rejected any suggestion of independent monitoring of Pakistan's nuclear program. 'This is a sovereign country. No document will be given. No independent investigation will take place here.'"

Step 79) - 03/03/2004

The Bush Administration entered into a deal with Pakistani dictator Musharraff where Washington would 'look the other way' regarding the despot's pardon of nuclear secret purveyor A.Q. Kahn in return for unfettered access as the U.S. hunts for Osama bin Laden in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan. But there's more to the story than that...

Seymour Hersh: "A Bush Administration intelligence officer with years of experience in nonproliferation issues told me last month, 'One thing we do know is that this was not a rogue operation. Suppose Edward Teller had suddenly decided to spread nuclear technology and equipment around the world. Do you really think he could do that without the government knowing? How do you get missiles from North Korea to Pakistan? Do you think A.Q. [Kahn] shipped all the centrifuges by Federal Express? The military has to be involved, at high levels... We had every opportunity to put a stop to the A. Q. Khan network fifteen years ago. Some of those involved today in the smuggling are the children of those we knew about in the eighties. It's the second generation now.' In public, the Bush Administration accepted the pardon at face value. Within hours of Musharraf's television appearance, Richard Armitage, the Deputy Secretary of State, praised him as 'the right man at the right time.'"

Step 80) - 04/09/2004

North Korea says Bush has pushed it to the 'brink of nuclear war' with the US.

"North Korea has issued its latest pronouncement in its diplomatic stoush with the United States, saying it is on the brink of nuclear war with the US. Pyongyang has dismissed the recent multilateral talks on the region as fruitless. The Korean Central News Agency says Washington is "driving the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war". It argues Pyongyang has no choice but to step up its push for nuclear weapons."

Step 81) - 06/07/2004

Supporting the assertion that the incursion into Iraq has made us less safe, not safer than before, the Bush administration officially announced that the U.S. will be withdrawing thousands of troops from the Korean peninsula to supplement the grossly under-manned troops stationed in Iraq.

"The United States has proposed withdrawing 12,500 of its 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea by 2006. This would include 3,600 troops that Washington has already earmarked for redeployment to Iraq. The US has said it needs to modernize its forces, but the proposed speed and scale of the move may leave the South feeling vulnerable to North Korea." In addition, "the US also wants to move the main US army headquarters from its current location in central Seoul to free up money for better military technology and infrastructure."

This horrendous Bush Flip-flop further enhances Bush's indecisive stance on the issue of North Korea. Recall:

Bush in 2002: "We hope for a day when the stability of the Korean Peninsula is built on peaceful reconciliation of North and South. Today, however, the stability of this peninsula is built on the military might of our great alliance. In our dealings with North Korea we've laid down a clear marker: We will stand by the people of South Korea. We will maintain our presence here."

Bush in 2004: "The US confirmed yesterday that it plans to withdraw a third of its troops stationed in South Korea by the end of next year as part of a worldwide redeployment."

Step 82) - 07/08/2004

Once again showing blatant inconsistency and weakness in foreign policy, the Bush administration pushes a five-year, $3 billion aid package for Pakistan through Congress over Democratic concerns about the country's proliferation of nuclear technology and lack of democratic reform.

This comes after "Powell pointedly refused to criticize Musharraf for pardoning nuclear physicist A.Q. Khan--who, the previous month, had admitted exporting nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya - declaring Khan's transgressions an 'internal Pakistani issue'."

Recall that exporting nuclear secrets to the 'Axis of Evil' was at one time an act that would have been met with grave consequences. Recall also that North Korea was a nation that the Bush administration vowed not to strike a deal with because they refused to 'reward bad behavior'. Apparently the administration now finds the proliferation of nuclear secrets to our enemies a simple 'internal issue' for Pakistan, one that deserves billions of our hard earned tax dollars.

Step 83) - 07/12/2004

Bush's redeployment of military force outrages the governments of Southeast Asia.

The sudden removal of thousands of troops from Korea would be followed by a commensurate deployment (redeployment) to the Pacific. China and other Southeast Asian countries are disturbed by the move. "It is an unprecedented show of force and a return to gunboat diplomacy," said Andrew Tam, a security expert at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore. The People's Daily accuses Bush of trying to build up a line of defense in the Western Pacific that starts with Japan and extends down China's coastline through Taiwan and the Philippines. "The US global strategic review not only again fully exposes a wild ambition for world domination, but at the same time also shows its intention to take unilateral actions in every part of the world."

Step 84) - 08/09/2004

Bush family friend, Reverend Sun Myung Moon sells submarines to North Korea -- or at least intends to.

"Jane's Defense Weekly is reporting this week that Kim Jong-Il, unstable North Korean dictator, may be able to target California with sea-launched missiles. His know-how, the Reuters story relates, comes from 12 ex-Soviet submarines that fell into his hands. They came with their original launch tubes and stabilizing gear intact. Where does Kim get those wonderful toys? Funny story: According to U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency documents from 1994 (which you can browse here), they were furnished by Reverend Moon. Robert Parry, the ace reporter who broke the Iran-Contra story, obtained these files through the Freedom of Information Act while writing his 2000 story, 'Rev. Moon, North Korea and the Bushes,' about Moon's gifts to the Communist regime."

Step 85) - 08/23/2004

Diplomatically retarded Bush causes tempers to boil...the North Korean Foreign Ministry called Bush an 'Imbecile,' 'Idiot,' and a 'Mankiller' saying he is 'Worse than Hitler'.

"North Korea on Monday described George Bush as an "imbecile" and a "tyrant" who was worse than Adolf Hitler, and ruled out holding new talks on nuclear weapons with the US. In an unusually strong attack, a No Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said comments by Bush calling North Korea a 'tyrant' during campaigning last week in Wisconsin were "malignant slanders and calumnies". "He is a political imbecile bereft of even elementary morality as a human being and a bad guy," said the spokesperson. The spokesperson blamed Bush for starting wars in Iraq and elsewhere, and said the US was trying to topple the legitimate government of North Korea. "Bush's assumption of office turned a peaceful world into a pandemonium unprecedented in history as it is plagued with a vicious circle of terrorism and war," said the statement. The spokesperson went on to describe Bush as "a tyrant that puts Hitler into the shade" as well as "an idiot, an ignorant, a tyrant and a man-killer."

As a result of Bush's false bravado and incompetent, incoherent, provocative rhetoric, North Korean Officials have called off a meeting with Bush that was supposed to take place prior to upcoming talks on Nuclear proliferation.

Step 86) - 08/24/2004

Major pre-US-election military exercises are scheduled took place in the Sea of Japan .

"North Korean nervousness is expected to reach an even higher pitch in late OCTOBER, when warships from the United States, Japan and other allied nations are to conduct joint exercises in the Sea of Japan... 'They really believe that Bush and Koizumi are in a plot for a pre-emptive attack on North Korea,' Mr. Quinones recalled of conversations in Pyongyang about Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi."

Step 87) - 01/14/2005

North Korea offers to resume talks over nuclear weapons and says it will consider treating the United States as a friend, provided the country does not slander Pyongyang. The announcement comes after a U.S. congressional delegation visits the country.

Step 88) - 02/10/2005

The world has long suspected it. Pyongyang has allegedly admitted it in private. They've even alluded to it in public. But not until now have they explicitly and publicly proclaimed that they possess Nuclear weapons. To boot, they suspend nuclear talks for an `indefinite period' citing U.S. hostility.

Pyongyang said there was no point in the talks since the US had termed North Korea an "outpost of tyranny". The North also repeated a claim to have built nuclear weapons for self-defense...  Washington and Pyongyang have been locked in a diplomatic standoff since October 2002, when the US accused North Korea of operating an illegal uranium program... Since then three rounds of talks have been held - including China, Japan, Russia and South Korea - but little progress has been made.

This is North Korea's most explicit public assertion that it possesses nuclear weapons. Senior members of the regime have privately spoken about its nuclear capability on several occasions in the past.  US and other intelligence agencies believe the North could already have built a small number of weapons, variously estimated at between two and ten.

Step 89) - 04/18/2005

The U.S. says it will consider UN sanctions against North Korea if its government refuses to return to talks on its nuclear program.

Step 90) - 05/01/2005

North Korea launches a short-range missile toward Japan, which lands in the Sea of Japan after traveling about 100 kilometers.

Step 91) 05/16/2005

Officials from the U.S. and Japan warn that North Korea risks an international response if it conducts a nuclear weapons test.

Step 92) - 06/03/2005

North Korea responds to recent comments by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, who called Kim Jong-il "one of the world's most irresponsible leaders." A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman calls Cheney a "bloodthirsty beast" who has drenched various parts of the world in blood.

Step 93) - 06/20/2005

The South Korean unification minister indicates that Kim Jong-il would give up North Korea's missiles if the U.S. establishes diplomatic ties with the country. The minister earlier said Kim might return to nuclear disarmament talks if he is treated with respect first.

Step 94) - 06/26/2005

Nuclear disarmament talks among the Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S. begin in Beijing following North Korea's 13-month boycott. To bring North Korea to the table, U.S. leaders assured Pyongyang it has no plans to invade.

Step 95) - 12/14/2005

Pyongyang labels U.S. ambassador to South Korea the 'Worst ambassador ever'.

North Korea said the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, who labeled Pyongyang "a criminal regime," was the worst ambassador in history and should be recalled, its official media reported on Wednesday.

Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said at a forum on December 7 that Pyongyang was engaged in the sale of weapons and illicit narcotics and Washington would not lift sanctions against it as long as those activities continue.

"This is a criminal regime," he said.

North Korea blasted the comments on Sunday, saying the remark was a declaration of war that had killed the spirit of six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

Step 96) - 12/19/2005 Dec 19, 2005

North Korea says it may boost its 'nuclear deterrent' as a response to U.S. policy - implies `human rights issue' is merely a PR façade to gain favor in public opinion circles.

North Korea said Monday it would boost its "nuclear deterrent,"... if the United States steps up its hostile policy against the regime.

The North will increase its reliance on national defense, including the "nuclear deterrent, pursuant to the songun (army-first) policy, to cope with the U.S. escalated policy to isolate and stifle it with the nuclear issue and the 'human rights issue' as pretexts,"

The statement was a response to recent moves at the United Nations, which has expressed concern about reports of human rights abuses in the North... The North's statement was the latest sign of tension casting doubt on hopes for progress in resolving the nuclear dispute at six-nation talks. The country has repeatedly railed against criticism of its human rights, saying the accusations are part of a U.S.-orchestrated campaign to oust Kim Jong Il's regime.

Step 97).... The spiral tightens... June 2006: North Korea is believed to have now produced enough plutonium for 4 to 13 nuclear bombs. Link, July 2006: North Korea tests missiles: one medium-range and five short-range. Medium-range "Taep'o-dong-2 fails. Link, October 3, 2006: Kim Jong Il announces North Korea plans to test nuclear weapons. Link, October 4, 2006: North Korea asserts that nuclear test is a measure to "bolstering its nuclear deterrent as a self-defense measure." Link, and October 9, 2006: They test. [Link]

So what's the next step? That's anybody's guess. Unfortunately, history suggests that it will not be a positive development.

Nevertheless, one clue of what's to come in this stairway to Armageddon might be given by the administration's attitude toward one particular infraction to world peace... After North Korean jets intercepted a US spy plane back in March of 2003, administration officials decried the acts as "reckless" and "provocative".

This illustrates the delusional world of hypocrisy and self-importance within which this administration thrives. They are (or at least act) blind to their own provocations, intolerance and rigidity. If the administration will not...or cannot...see the world as a global community, one that requires cooperation and understanding to prevent global catastrophe, then we're doomed to suffer the consequences of their ignorance and incompetence.

When faced with a pseudo-nuclear dictatorship, Bush knows of nothing but loud-mouthed rhetoric and gunboat diplomacy. These things become increasingly feckless and reckless in a world that is increasingly nuclear.

Bush's actions as global dominatrix is purported by Republicans to cow 'rogue' states into submission, offering their alleged WMD aspirations on a platter and disavowing all ties to terrorist groups.

Reality suggests that his actions ensure quite the opposite - that states seek nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction as deterrents to prevent nuclear and non-nuclear powers such as the United States from attacking them or their interests -- not as weapons of offense. To use them as weapons of offense would virtually assure them and their leaders' immediate annihilation.

North Korea in particular, is clearly following this strategy. According to David Kang, author of 'Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies':

"'North Korea clearly does not wish to go nuclear: if it wanted to, it would have done so long ago. North Korea has consistently maintained that its foremost desire in return for scrapping its nuclear program is a security guarantee from the US. Instead of responding to this opportunity, the Bush administration wants to humiliate the North Koreans by pressuring them into giving up the one trump card they have in any negotiations for a security treaty.... 'The most likely outcomes of this strategy are all negative,' says Kang. 'It could result in a war that could cost millions of lives, many of them American, and place the US and China against each other on the peninsula.' Another likely outcome ... is the 'chaotic, costly and violent' collapse of the current regime.... 'The least likely outcome from Bush's policy is gradual North Korean economic and political reform and a reduction of tension.'"

Of course the 'security assurance' that North Korea seeks is nothing new to the US, which currently has such agreements with several other nations:

"Turkey, a close friend to Israel, has made it clear that Iran going nuclear would force Ankara to secure new 'security assurances.' Like Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, which have either tried or considered producing nuclear weapons, all of these nations have or could quickly acquire nuclear-capable missiles."

Oh, what a world. It's times like this that I yearn for the Clinton years. What do you think he would do in this situation? Well, why don't we let him tell you himself?

On Larry King (2-6-03), he outlined a plan to persuade North Korea to end the current crisis:

"We'll make an omnibus agreement if you'll end both nuclear programs, let testing in so you can't start any thing again, end the missile program, something that they had not agreed to do. And we'll make sure you got enough food and energy. We'll teach you how to grow food and we'll give you a non-aggression pact. They want this non-aggression pact, I think that's a no-brainer. Why? Because if we ever had to attack it would be because they did some thing that violated the non-aggression pact... You cannot let them become a nuclear arsenal, because the pressure on them to sell these bombs will be overwhelming. They have no other way to make money... If we can make a comprehensive settlement that says, Here's the way you can be part of the East Asian community. Here's the way you can be part of the world community. And here's what you have to do. That's what I think we ought to do."

Anyway, barring a Clinton comeback, we can get a glimpse of what might be coming our way.

2006 elections are right around the corner. God help us all.