Bush Succeeding with North Korea
I haven’t written for months, and thought I’d pick up my blogging again. With so much else in life (Cub Scouts for my son, long hours for work, watching my boys grow, improving my home), I let this fall by the wayside. In any case…
According to this report on North Korea’s destruction of its cooling tower:
McCain’s Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, used the breakthrough to stress “the importance of direct talks.'’ Obama, 46, has been criticized by McCain for proposing talks with Iran about its nuclear program.
“When we weren’t talking to North Korea, they were advancing their nuclear program,'’ Obama said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
This is doubtless a reference (in part) to Bush’s severance of diplomatic solutions to Iraq, before going in to remove Saddam from power. It’s like saying, “See? Talks worked in Korea. Talks would have worked in Iraq, and I plan to show they will work in Iran.” Unfortunately, this perspective demonstrates a lack of wisdom on Obama’s part. You cannot have a one-size-fits-all diplomatic policy and expect success. Anyone who thinks so should not be in charge of our national security.
Bush has shown wisdom (at least wisdom in surrounding himself with advisers wiser than himself) in keeping us safe from potential foreign threats (not in every area of course… his border policies continue to compromise our safety and sovereignty). However, he has shown wisdom in using a variety of tactics in dealing with potential nuclear threats. He attacked Iraq when it was clear to me that finding nothing was proof of nothing where Saddam was concerned… Hussein’s own top military men thought they had a nuclear program! (Does anyone remember that?) In fact, Suddam even said that he wanted us to think he was hiding a nuclear program (Does anyone remember that?) And even though there were no nuclear weapons to find, the amount of conventional weapons we did find was surprisingly enormous (again, does anyone remember that?). Alas, people’s memories are short, and their opinions retrospectively critical. And now, we have a democracy of Iraqis, grateful for our presence, with free elections, and killings at their lowest levels in recent history. It seems to me that diplomacy would not have accomplished this (as proof, I submit the fact that during Clinton’s years of diplomacy, nothing close to this was accomplished). Yet, we know Bush is not a a simple war monger, because he exercised diplomacy in Korea, and we see its fruit. Different approaches for different situations. Even if you disagree with his judgement, that’s leadership.
I will say it again: anyone who approaches every international problem the same way — whether it be talking to everyone without conditions, or bombing the heck out of all of our enemies – should not be in charge of our national security. Don’t misunderstand me: I want a president with Obama’s energy, his compassion, his resolve… but not his naivete. Leadership like his will get us killed, more surely than global warming.