Posted by
arandomguy on Friday, October 13, 2006 12:10:35 AM
The US has begun to circle a draft resolution against North Korea. The resolution will authorize non-military sanctions only, caving to a key demand by the Chinese, who do not want conflict near their borders.
It would however, allow for sanctions such as economic penalities, breaking of diplomatic relations, and banning air travel for members of the Korean government and their families. So, the resolution is not a total loss, because it does provide for some element of harsh measures against the North Korean government.
Unfortunately, the resolution does not implement the arms embargo the US has been pushing for. This, to me, is an extreme failure. Think about it - why would any power sell North Korea weapons? They are a rogue nuclear power? Why should selling them weapons be an issue at all? The weapons will, of course, make them more dangerous - why should any power be against it?
But then again, China is - they do not want a total arms embargo to North Korea. This definitely raises some important questions about the Chinese - and where their loyalties lie. Or rather, it proves that the loyalty of China, is above everything else, to China. Now this is fine under most circumstances (and the same is true with most other nations), but because China is looking only exclusively for its own interests, they will never implement policies that, though they may hurt China in the short run, will benefit not only China but the world in the long run.
This is the difference between China and the United States. The US is willing to take a short-term loss, in order to secure a long term gain. This is why we have survived, and this is why we are a superpower. This is why we won the Cold War, and this is why we will eventually claim victory over islamic fascism.
The UN resolution, while not completely worthless, is far from the extremely tough resolution we have been lead to believe would be passed. It has a long way to go before it will meaningfully hurt North Korea - not that it will matter anyway. North Korea really doesn't care at all what the "international community" does.