Posted by
arandomguy on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 5:16:34 PM
That the North Koreans exploded something underground - a conclusion under dispute in the first minutes of the breaking story - is now beyond dispute. What is now up for dispute, is whether that explosion was a nuclear one or not.
Let's look at the facts. The first US explosion of an atomic bomb - that over Hiroshima in August 1945 - had the explosive power of 15 kilotons of TNT - enough to destroy almost an entire city instantaneously. The second bomb, that dropped on Nagasaki, had the equivalent explosion of 22 kolotons of TNT. The first Soviet bomb was equivalent to the Nagasaki bomb.
By comparison, the most powerful bomb ever detonated - Tsar Bomba - by the Russians, had an explosive power of 100 Megatons of TNT, however it was intentionally reduced before testing to 50 Megatons (that's 1,000,000 tons per Megaton, or 50,000,000 tons).
The North Korean test was sub-kiloton. It is estimated at being anywhere between 200 and 900 tons, which would make it an extremely weak bomb by nuclear standards - 30 - 50 times weaker than the first American & Soviet bombs.
So, there are ongoing questions about whether the North Korean "nuclear" test was really nuclear at all, or whether they faked it with conventional explosives - which could be done, though 500 tons of dynamite is a substantial amount.
If the US could prove that the test was faked, it would be a big boost to us worldwide. First it would help re-establish our credibility among the runaway nations of Western Europe. Second, it would prevent leftists from calling us warmongers. Also, it would totally destroy any remaining credibility North Korea thinks it has.
Whether the test was fake or not, the UN and the US should carry through with our sanctions, because it is the thought that counts. North Korea had every intetntion of being extremely provocative, whether they faked the test or not - and for that provocation, the US and the UN cannot sit lightly. They must collectively take action against North Korea regardless, in attempts to dissuade others from pulling similar stunts.
For my part, I'm starting to doubt the test was nuclear. US Intelligence has still not been able to confirm that the blast was indeed nuclear. And, with the exception of Russia, no nation has yet been able to confirm that the blast was nuclear. So, there is still the possibility that a nuclear explosion took place, but it is increasingly unlikely.
Regardless, action must be taken.