Saying No to War

Okay, okay. I get that this is a day late, and in the news business, it's ancient history. However, I, like the rest of you, have been stunned not as much as by North Korea's admission that it's been working on a nuclear program as much as Team Bush's reaction.

Keep in mind that Iraq and North Korea are both in the Axis of Evil.

Also, keep in mind that Team Bush knew about North Korea's admission of a continued nuclear program since the beginning of the month, a time when Team Bush was hammering Congress to undo the trigger lock so he could fire the U.S. Armed Forces on Iraq.

Got that? Fine. Here we go.

Team Bush's reaction to North Korea's admission has been met not with the red-hot language of invasion or regime change, but diplomacy.

Excuse me, diplomacy? Hey, Team Bush, here ya go. Right there. North Korea has a nuke program (with help by our best bud in Pakistan) and maybe has a couple of the suckers lying around, ready to use.

But the current line coming out of Team Bush now is that North Korea and Iraq are two different entities, and therefore must be approached and handled differently.

Bullshit.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, Team Bush acted as if the world was divided into two camps: those with us and those against us. As mentioned earlier, Iraq and North Korea (joined by Iran) were placed in an "Axis of Evil," creating a new enemy conglomeration which Republicans need in order to see the world through any kind of foreign policy prism. And although Afghanistan didn't make the top three, it was the first target of America's war on terror. The goal of the U.S. was to root out any potential danger to the "peace-loving peoples of the world." After we couldn't find Osama bin Laden, Team Bush performed a sleight of hand and made Iraq via Saddam Hussein the number one villain.

Weapons of Mass Destruction, we were told. He could have nukes. He used chemical weapons on his own people. He's a tyrant. He's broken international rules. Saddam Hussein must go, by force if necessary.

Again, for the "peace-loving peoples of the world."

And Team Bush was ready for it, thanks to a Congress worried about mid-term election results giving him the war powers he craved like an addict. But then, the grown-ups at the global table talked and Team Bush had to reconsider the use of force.

But don't get me wrong. The U.S. was ready to unleash hell in Iraq. Team Bush was ready and set with the constant hammering of propaganda and the daily launches of war memes ("Saddam has unmanned aircraft ready to go," "Saddam will use al-Qiada for his first wave of troops," "Saddam is six months from having a nuke"), all of which turning out to be either false or a blatant twisting of facts

And then North Korea came along.

No doubt here. They admit they have a nuclear program. They broke an international treaty which forbade them from having a nuclear program. Their leader is a dictator with a million-man army an hour's drive from the capital of their southern neighbor. And just like Iraq, we fought a war with them, complete with an indecisive ending.

So, why diplomacy? Why not go guns-a-blazin' into Pyongyang? Where's the heated talk about Kim Jong Il? How come CNN doesn't have "Target: North Korea" logo blossoming like spring flowers?

Simple. North Korea has nukes.

The CIA also estimates that North Korea has a couple devices tucked away somewhere, and common logic dictates you don't invade a country which has the power to irradiate your troops on the battlefield or possibly launch a nuclear retaliation against a U.S. city. As crazy as North Korea's leader might be, it would be understandable if he defended himself with nuclear weapons against an overwhelming force. Or, better yet, when faced with certain and total defeat, he would send a parting gift to Seoul or Tokyo or Seattle in the form of a mushroom cloud.

Saddam was a paper tiger, and Team Bush knew it. For all the talk of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, they had to know it wasn't likely that Saddam either had any or was willing to use them in combat. Saddam is a brutal man, but he isn't stupid. He knows that if a WMD goes off, and the device can be traced back to him, Baghdad becomes U-238-laced rubble within the hour. Saddam was a pushover, an easy win (despite the thousands of dead troops and tens of thousands of dead Iraqis that would be there when the smoke cleared) and in the end worth the hassle because oil greeted Team Bush at the finish line.

But North Korea? No, they aren't going to be put in the cross hairs anytime soon. Most likely, North Korea wants help for its isolated self, and maybe admitting you have nukes will get the West to pony over some dough for food and medicine. Covertly put, North Korea is performing state-level nuclear blackmail, and the West will have no choice but to go along, because underneath all the cowboy boots and tough talk and posing, North Korea figured out that Team Bush would never, ever go to war with such a lethally armed opponent.

P.S. A big piece of inspiration for this entry comes from Ted Rall's genius cartoon about invasion and tough talk.