Forbes Re-Writes History
Commentary By Ron Beasley
Bahukutumbi Raman has good reason to dislike Jimmy Carter, he is after all a retired member of the Indian Intelligence service. It was under Carter's National Security Advisor, cold war hawk Zbigniew Brzezinski, that the US moved away from support for India to a relationship with Pakistan. But that does not give him an excuse for selective memory and re-writing history.
Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter?
North Korea thumbs its nuclear nose at Washington
The defiant action of North Korea in testing a long-range missile with military applications last month, and its latest act of defiance in reportedly carrying out an underground nuclear test on May 25, can be attributed--at least partly, if not fully--to its conviction that it will have nothing to fear from the Obama administration for its acts of defiance. It is true that even when George Bush was the president, North Korea had carried out its first underground nuclear test in October 2006. The supposedly strong policy of the Bush administration did not deter it from carrying out its first test.
After Obama assumed office in January, whatever hesitation that existed in North Korea's policy-making circles regarding the likely response of U.S. administration has disappeared, and its leadership now feels it can defy the U.S. and the international community with impunity.
OK, the North Koreans carried out their first test because Bush and the hawks were strong but carried out the second because Obama is weak. Am I alone in failing to see the logic in this.
President Obama cannot blame the problem-states of the world--Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar and North Korea--if they have come to the conclusion that they can take liberties with the present administration in Washington without having to fear any adverse consequences. North Korea's defiance is only the beginning. One has every reason to apprehend that Iran might be the next to follow.
Of course he entirely ignores the fact that both North Korea and Iran did all of their nuclear and missile development when the Republicans and the foreign policy hawks were firmly in charge.
Raman also complains that Obama, like President Carter, could create an image of the United States as "soft and confused" on foreign policy. Raman, however, fails to disclose the fact that North Korea's "missile program" began and grew substantially during the 1980s and 1990s, while presumably "tough and coherent" Republicans and a Democrat occupied the White House.
North Korea began flaunting its missile power long before Obama's presidency. In 2002, President Bush made his infamous speech that placed North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq, on a list of nations constituting an "axis of evil." The next year, North Korea became the first country ever to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. North Korea previously announced its intent to withdraw from the pact during the Clinton administration, but shifted course following international diplomacy and pressure from nations, including the United States.
In 2006, four years after Bush's axis of evil declaration and after years of "strong" warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, North Korea tested a nuclear missile, provoking international outrage. That same year, Iran defied international pressure and stated that it would resume its uranium enrichment program and that it would discontinue voluntary measures that gave international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities.
Yes, Raman ignores the inconvenient truth but then he gets down to is real complaint.
Obama's new over-generosity to the Pakistani armed forces and his reluctance to hold them accountable for their sins of commission and omission in the war against terrorism have convinced the Pakistani leaders that they have no adverse consequences to fear from the Obama administration. India would be the first to feel the adverse consequences of this newly found confidence in Islamabad vis-a-vis its relations with the U.S.
Here again he fails to admit this is simply a continuation of the Bush administration policy. But the final paragraph is where he really ignores history.
Jimmy Carter took a little over three years to create the image of the U.S. as a confused and soft power. Obama is bidding fair to create that image even in his first year in office. The North Korean defiance is the first result of this perceived soft image. There will be more surprises for the U.S. and the international community to follow if Obama and his aides do not embark on corrective actions before it is too late.
Brezenski was following the failed policy of Kissinger and the Nixon administration. The massive fail just happened to occur when Carter was in office.
Thanks for the link. Great analysis!
Posted by: Dissenting Justice | May 26, 2009 at 10:49 PM