So then, your argument isn’t that going to Iraq will draw resources that are needed for dealing with NK. It’s that war with Iraq is dominating the air waves, and you don’t know what the president’s plans are wrt NK. Correct? Or do you assume that because Bush hasn’t told everyone what he plans to do with NK that he hasn’t given the situation any thought?
My opinion: Bush probably discusses the NK situation within his cabinet every day. He probably knows his options quite well, and none of the viable ones involve military action that requires a large commitment of troops. So why don’t we hear about all of this NK discussion? Because the president wants to appear focused he doesn’t want to draw attention from Iraq right now. With Iraq, we can be proactive. With NK, we can only be reactive. The time for being proactive ended the second NK waved a nuke at us and flipped us the proverbial bird. Meanwhile, the time for being proactive wrt Iraq could draw to a close unexpectedly. It’s nigh certain the Saddam doesn’t have nukes now, but it’s possible, if not probable, that all he needs is the ability to enrich some uranium before he can pull a NK on us, so to speak.
If everyone agrees that NK is a more worrisome problem then Iraq, then they should further agree that keeping Iraq from devolving into NK is a good idea. And in the meantime, don’t expect to hear a lot on NK, because while it may be the bigger problem, Iraq is the more imminent one, and further, the one we can actually do something about.
Another reason you may not hear much on NK is that it’s a very volatile diplomatic situation. As such, the administration needs to keep its cards close to its chest. If NK is uncertain about how we’d react to their actions, that’s an advantage for us. If Bush goes on TV and publicly spells out every last contingency, we lose that advantage. So anything you could expect to hear on NK would probably be something like, “Yup, NK is still a pain in the ass, yup. Axis of Evil, blah blah blah.” Anything more substantial could jeopardize our position.
Jeff
