Vice President Biden and North Korea
North Korea. A nation that has never stopped preparing to finish the Korean War, 57 years after the ceasefire. A war that cost some 36,000 American lives, left 92,000 wounded, 15,000 as P.O.W./M.I.A., and over 2,000,000 Koreans dead. A war that requires the upkeep of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of mines along the 38th parallel. A country that might level Seoul with 11,000 pieces of artillery that cannot be stopped before wiping out the capital.
This is the nation that Vice President Biden might have been referring to when he stated on October 20, 2008
Given that it has been more than 6 months. Also given is the fact that the Obama Administration has had to deal with issues in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea from roughly the 3rd month of his Administration thru today. But right now America is closer to restarting the Korean War than it has been in decades.
On June 17, 2009 I stated
Since that day North Korea has only gotten bolder. Fueled with the tepid response of America to Iran’s nuclear plans, and it’s inaction in the face of North Korean missile tests, and the endless apologies to every nation that dislikes America, North Korea has made a move.
North Korea reportedly sunk a South Korean warship in international waters. Both nations have continued an escalation of words that infer war on the horizon. America sits quietly as experts dispute the likelyhood of actual active conflict. They quote the lack of active conflict after attacks on South Korea in 1968 and 1983.
Experts forget that Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were both considered strong and fearsome during those times. Neither China nor the Soviet Union were willing to take on America or allow North Korea to escalate a war that would draw in the nation with those men at the helm. President Obama is no Kennedy nor Reagan, even by the standards of supporters.
Thus the reality of another Korean War looms. A war that would draw in a President unwilling to fight terrorists, rather wanting to provide them Rights of American citizens they would not accept for their own people. A war that would require immediate action from an Administration plagued with delays and indecisive deliberations (like with the Christmas Day underwear bomber, the Fort Hood terrorist, and the decision to increase troops in Afghanistan).
There are 1.2 million North Koreans that have trained for 57 years to fight America. They are led by a leader that is internationally regarded as unstable. They potentially have low-grade nuclear weapons. And they don’t like or respect America, even with President Obama at the helm. Is this the moment that Vice President Biden asked us to be wary of? Is this the moment that the crisis occurs?
What will America, led by a Commander-n-Chief that apparently dislikes the military, do if a war does start? How will America react as China supports North Korea. What if the chain reaction pulls in Iran defending North Korea, and thus Israel acts to defend itself from the threat Iran poses? What if this is the Archduke Ferdinand moment of this generation?
There are many if’s. But the honest conclusions based on the actions of the Obama Administration and the Democrat-led Congress do NOT inspire confidence in allies, nor pause for enemies.
If we are to remember the words of Vice President Biden, and any of the potentially devestating outcomes occur, then the reactions of the Obama Administration in June of 2009 was the moment that history will remember. Because it was those moments that led to the March 2010 sinking of the South Korean ship. And if we are to grade that moment in June, Kennedy will not be the mark given.
