By ,
Published January 13, 2015
The proverbial horse is out of the barn and the world seems surprised. What's so amazing is the world left the barn door open. We have known for a long time about the problems of weapons proliferation, but for political or commercial reasons the world just shrugged its shoulders. All too often, nations of the world refused to work together to pressure their allies to end weapons development. There were usually just too many other priorities
to deal with. And tragically, commercial interests all too often won the
day. You would be amazed if you reviewed a list of companies across the
globe that provided sophisticated technologies to Saddam Hussein's weapons
program.
North Korea obviously emerges as our latest concern. This problem has been
brewing for decades. A preemptive military strike will not solve the problem because US intelligence sources indicate that North Korea already has a nuclear weapon. That weapon could be deployed against South Korea in a cataclysmic attack. The solution to this problem lies in studying the limited success the world has had in containing nuclear development.
Economic pressures must be applied by North Korea's neighbors, most notably
China. The threat of total isolation must accompany those pressures. Incentives should be developed that would induce North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The US has used a similar approach with success in dealing with various nations in the past.
A multiple approach is necessary in d ealing with the growing problem of proliferation. Sometimes military preemption will work, as is the case in Iraq. The approach in other cases can involve economic incentives and assurances of mutual security with the underlying threat of total isolation. Sometimes it takes great leaders of conscience to end nuclear development in their nation. The growing list of nations who are members of the nuclear
club is a matter of deadly concern. All in all, it is one of the world's most vexing problems, and one that the world brought on itself.
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