Originally posted by DoctorYO
As far as NK reniged on their treaties; all nations do that.. the key here NK made a offer to us.. (they knew we caught them and tried to come clean..) And we shunned them (as we should)but the axis speech gave them justification for weaponising their stock..)
Sure most countries have reneged on a treaty before. When they think they can get away with it, or if circumstances change after the signing of the treaty and it's no longer in their best interest to support it. The only thing that really supports a treaty, in the end, is respect for what the other guy will do to you if you dont hold up your end. NK has basically flipped us the bird, and knows we cant do much about it without causing irreparable harm to that corner of the world. They never tried to come clean, they admitted what they wanted to admit, in the time frame which they chose to work to their advantage. The entire affair was INTENDED to come out, so they could use their unique position to blackmail the world. Nothing we did or said gives them a justification for developing nuclear weapons. Because if anyone in this day and age would use them, its NK.
(you think china wants a nuclear armed NK next to them, Id say no.. but by us justifiying clear and present danger to them they had bargaining chips... Same thing with Iran right now ... its clear they are weaponising their stock too.... but again they can say look at our neighbor Iraq thats not happing here if we are nuclear armed... (trump card epecially with our all time low of international credibility) Look at the US's posture towards india and pakistan after their nuclear programs got going.. Hence these other nations want the one thing that will deter the superior USA/coalition conventional force.. nuclear arms..
China doesnt fear a nuclar NK so much, although I'm sure they would be much happier if nukes didnt spread too much. Its still a huge measure of power to have a nuclear arsenal, even if you dont plan to use it. China has always had pretty good relations with NK though, one of the few govornments that can talk to them and get them to listen. It doesnt bear much beyond a passing resemblance to the tense situation with Iran though. With NK, the main target is Japan, a mostly disarmed and pacifist country that would need a huge boost to overcome their legal and moral blocks to starting a war. Also, NK fully realizes the delicate nature of the balance of power in the East, and are just playing a game to get something they want. Iran OTOH, denys any involvement with nukes at all, and could very well start a war if Israel is pushed too far and attacks them. Unlike the Far East, the Middle East is already destablized and while a war with Israel would send the whole region up in flames, the world economy wouldnt suffer so much because there is no real input and/or output other than oil. And its not going anywhere. Access might be tough for awhile, but there are other sources until it cools down.
Its could be avoided if we respect these people in the first place.. Im not saying kiss their arse but basic diplomatic respect should be paramount and maintained with all countries even if we despise them.. It gives us more options tactically if things get hairy
I agree with you on this one hundred percent. To a point. No matter what anyone feels about our president personally, or about his decisions, I think most people would agree that (at least until proven otherwise), everyone is deserving of respect, and that alienating most of our supporters was not the best of moves. Granted, there can be an argument made that if they didnt want to support us when things got tough, they werent much of a support to start with, but everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, I think we are beyond the point where we have to strain to keep diplomatic relations with a country that is against everything we belive in and strive to protect. Many of the European countries tried that with Hitler, and they paid the price. I hope no one ever pays such a price again for trying to promote peace. A sad fact, but I think the best route for our foreign policy can be summed up by the famous quote from Teddy Roosevelt "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." Or maybe Patton's "Lead me, follow me, or get the hell outta my way."
Abu jail... violation... Bridge jump murders violation, head shot wounded man... violation, and whatever other atrocities have been commited by our forces.. My guess once we pull out of iraq in the next ten years IMO war crimes will be brought... If they indict pinochet after all this time what makes you think the world cant indict Rumsfield or others for this... Then whats going to happen when we drop out of Geneva conventions to protect them.. heh geneva conventions are more for the treatment of our soldiers than the opposing force.. think about it...
Soldiers get carried away sometimes. Thats why we need quality men and women as officers, who are trained to deal with the emotions that can take away a soldier's judgment skills at a time when they are needed most. Unfortunately, even the officers fail sometimes. They are only human. Person for person, I'd stand our military up next to any other in the world and shine the light of truth on them, and I'm betting I'd find far less to be embarrassed about than most others can claim. Yes bad things happen. We try to minimize them, try to make up for them when they happen, but in the end we must go on because if we give up before the end result is reached, then every thing that happend, every life that was lost is all in vain. I personally dont like whats happening in Iraq, but I dont have any answers better than the ones being offered, so I'll not gripe just for the sake of griping.
