North Korea tested a nuclear device, they claim, and now the world's
leaders and diplomats are basting in self-righteous rage. Once again
the shadow of the Iraq War is cast–Saddam didn't have any atomic
weapons (many knew that) so he was a plausible target. Now the two
countries named by George W. Bush as co-captains in the "Axis of
Evil," rather than learning the sort of lesson that Bush and Cheney
demanded they learn after watching Bush's "crusade," have decided to
arm themselves to the teeth with doomsday weapons (and many expected
that).
Mocking the Nuclear-non-proliferation treaty the way Bush did in his
dealings with India, refusing to join the International Criminal Court
or the Kyoto Accords, violating and trying to re-write the Geneva
Conventions, these are not helpful gestures to the international
community.
Bush made his bet on the intimidation and fear he expected from the
rest of the world after a brutal and unnecessary occupation of Iraq.
Having declared the United Nations "irrelevant" for not
rubber-stamping his war-mongering and corruption, his alternative
plans for a "uni-polar" world are collapsing by the day.
But what of deterrence? The United States has the military power to
defend its homeland, but these strained soldiers and resources need to
be redeployed away from Iraq. As for attacking the rest of the world,
America is now the one finding itself deterred.