A Cold War Chill Is Creeping Across Asia
Well it was nice while it lasted. It's been 17 years since the Berlin Wall was toppled on November 9, 1989, and the Cold War ended. I have a sliver of that wall as a memento of those tense, uncertain times when we worried that Russia might drop the bomb on us at any moment and turn America into a great, smoldering crater. I remember touring the bomb shelter our neighbors dug deep in their backyard. I remember crouching under my desk at school during nuclear bomb drills, as if that would save us. When my grandfather died a few years back, we found a huge cache of bottled water, toilet paper, and spoiling canned goods hidden in the back of a closet under the basement stairs -- a reminder of the fear that gripped America during those years.
I've always been glad my children didn't grow up with the threat of nuclear war. The devastation, death and destruction wrought by conventional weapons has been horrific enough; but at least total annihilation of the human race in a nuclear holocaust has not been one of our fears. Until now.
With North Korea's testing of a nuclear weapon, the Cold War is ramping up again. In Asia, the runners are in the starting block, and North Korea just fired the starter's pistol. China and India already have nuclear capability. Fear of Kim Jong II's maniacal plans is likely to push Japan and South Korea into the nuclear race. And the Middle East is poised to follow suit. Iran will not abandon it's nuclear push; and once achieved, fear will drive Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, perhaps even Syria to follow suit.
This time, though, America will be powerless to stop it. Our currency with North Korea and Iran is zero. We have nothing to give or take away that can exact the extreme pressure necessary to deter them from seeking the Holy Grail of world power. This time others will have to carry the burden. Only China and Russia have the clout to dissuade North Korea and Iran from their nuclear goals and change the course of world history. The question is, will they have the courage to rise above their own interests and save the world?
I've always been glad my children didn't grow up with the threat of nuclear war. The devastation, death and destruction wrought by conventional weapons has been horrific enough; but at least total annihilation of the human race in a nuclear holocaust has not been one of our fears. Until now.
With North Korea's testing of a nuclear weapon, the Cold War is ramping up again. In Asia, the runners are in the starting block, and North Korea just fired the starter's pistol. China and India already have nuclear capability. Fear of Kim Jong II's maniacal plans is likely to push Japan and South Korea into the nuclear race. And the Middle East is poised to follow suit. Iran will not abandon it's nuclear push; and once achieved, fear will drive Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, perhaps even Syria to follow suit.
This time, though, America will be powerless to stop it. Our currency with North Korea and Iran is zero. We have nothing to give or take away that can exact the extreme pressure necessary to deter them from seeking the Holy Grail of world power. This time others will have to carry the burden. Only China and Russia have the clout to dissuade North Korea and Iran from their nuclear goals and change the course of world history. The question is, will they have the courage to rise above their own interests and save the world?
