While the government wrings its hands over a potential pandemic, we have lost sight of some of the real dangers to the United States: North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela.
by Michael Naragon
Amid the furor of the porcine pestilence which shall no longer be known as “swine flu,” the world has been threatened by a more tangible and far-reaching danger in North Korea.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that North Korea has threatened to detonate a nuclear device if the United Nations does not apologize to them. The U.N. had condemned the North Koreans after their April 5 test launch of a missile system capable of delivering a nuclear device as far as Alaska.
Prof. Kim Yong-hyun, an academician from South Korea, said the North Koreans seem to have the will and the capability to make their threat a reality, or they would not have made the threat in the first place. “The North is trying to maximize the stakes,” said Kim, “as the United States keeps ignoring it.” The professor said that he believed the threat could have been an attempt to gauge the strength or weakness of an Obama administration that, according to Kim, has not revealed a policy on North Korea.
In the Middle East, Iran continues to perform the 21st century’s best impression of Nazi Germany. After the racial tirade by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Geneva last week, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon likened the world’s treatment of Ahmadinejad to the treatment of Adolf Hitler in the years leading up to the Second World War.
“What the West needs to do is stand up against this wave and confront it,” said Ya’alon in an April 27 Jerusalem Post story. President Obama has refused to set a timetable or any benchmarks for the Iranians in an attempt to force them to cease enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. Israeli officials fear that, without an enforceable timetable, the Iranians will simply stall the U.N. long enough for them to develop a nuclear weapon that could be used against Israel.
Obama has refused to meet with new Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an upcoming conference in Washington. The White House and the State Department have repeatedly stated that they would not support any Israeli action against Iran. Perhaps Obama does not understand Israel’s concern for Iran, which he labeled as a “tiny country” during the presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, like Cuba in 1962, the Venezuelans under Communist Hugo Chavez have begun a close relationship with Russia. In September of last year, the Chavez government allowed Russian strategic bombers to land in their country for military maneuvers. According to a FOXNews.com story on April 20, Venezuela has already purchased $4 billion worth of Russian weapons, including helicopters and fighter jets, and the Latin American dictatorship is also reportedly in negotations with Russia to purchase T-72 battle tanks.
Obama’s response? To smile and shake hands with Chavez in their first meeting, then happily accept a copy of The Open Veins of Latin America, a diatribe about U.S. involvement in that region of the world.
The Constitution makes it clear what our government’s number one priority in foreign affairs should be. Article I, Section 8 of the document charges Congress to “provide for the common defence [sic].” Part of that defense should involve maintaining a posture of strength in a world where two-bit dictators like Kim Jong-Il, Ahmadinejad, and Chavez have the chance to acquire nuclear weapons.
During the Cold War, our primary adversary, the Soviet Union, was ruled by reasonable men, even if they were backing a losing system. In the 21st century, our adversaries are many and are anything but reasonable. If countries such as North Korea and Iran are allowed to develop nuclear weapons, our national security will be severely compromised.
While our politicians urge citizens to refrain from traveling to Mexico, to wash their hands, and to wear masks, our borders remain open and our enemies do not sleep. They are developing weapons that can be used to blackmail the U.S. and our allies, to threaten the political stability of the world. And our government’s priority? The flu.
