A nuclear threat is a nuclear threat. Except when it’s not, according to the White House.
Why does North Korea seem to get a pass and not Iraq, which was invaded because of weapons of mass destruction that could not be found? And what about Iran, which got two days of saber-rattling this week about its suspected nuclear ambitions?
One reason for the different standards: North Korea is in a real position to carry out its threats and trigger a new Korean War. Also, the U.S. already is stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“North Korea is quite capable of responding to any kind of military action that we take with a devastating attack, an artillery and missile barrage on the South that would inflict millions of deaths and casualties,” said Michele Flournoy, who was a Pentagon strategist in the Clinton administration.
“Unlike Iran, North Korea poses not just a potential threat but an actual threat today,” Flournoy said.
Pyongyang’s statement on Thursday that it possesses nuclear weapons–and needs them to defend against a hostile U.S.–complicates President Bush’s hopes of defusing the situation with diplomacy. North Korea also said it was pulling out of six-nation talks on its nuclear program, talks on which the administration had placed high hopes.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
