North Korea Gets Tough Love, Iran Gets Some Love

Don't reward N. Korea, reward Iran instead?

George W. Bush talked up the “Axis of Evil” but Obama has shown distaste for such Bushisms thus far (perhaps too polarizing).  In a recent article in the Financial Times we learn of the upcoming hardball his administration may take with North Korea:

The US is moving to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea over the Stalinist regime’s recent nuclear and missile tests, with Barack Obama warning that Washington would not continue a policy of capitulating in the face of provocative acts by Pyongyang.

“We are not intending to continue a policy of rewarding provocation,” the US president said on Saturday during a visit to Normandy to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

To that end, the US is seeking to increase pressure by imposing informal financial sanctions alongside efforts at the United Nations Security Council.

US officials are seeking to dissuade Asian banks – particularly from China – from doing business with Pyongyang, in a similar push to Washington’s drive to stop financial institutions from working with Iran.

North Korea is a dangerous country both for her neighbors and for her citizens but the leader, Kim Jong Il, surely knows were he to actually “do” anything he would be wiped out immediately, albeit at a heavy human cost.  Not continuing to play North Korea’s game is a wise move by the Obama administration and, for this, he should be praised.  As I was reading this article last night I came upon this:

“We are going to take a very hard look at how we move forward on these issues, and I don’t think that there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilising the region and we just react in the same ways,” Mr Obama said.

I found this to be a very curious line of thinking.  So what does “we just react in the same ways” really mean?  Essentially, North Korea talks a tough talk, the do something provacative like threaten South Korea or the test a missle or, most recently, they set off a nuke and the U.S. tries to make nice with them, give them some concessions, and then North Korea goes away for a while until it all happens again.  Obama thinks that this pattern is unproductive (that is the only way I can read this).  Hmmm… interesting…

What about Iran..?

Iran's president just needs some love.

Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, flouts “international” law, develops nuclear technology (much of it from North Korea), threatens to wipe Israel off the face of the map, test fires missiles, and supports terrorist organizations and what does Obama do?  President Obama goes to Cairo and tells Iran to develop its nuclear weapons, build nuclear power plants, and don’t worry about U.S. “interference” in Iran’s internal affairs.

How is “giving in” to North Korea wrong on the one hand because its unproductive but doing the same thing with Iran is okay?

Riddle me that, bat fans.

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