Opaque Lucidity

Kim's House of Values

We now know, without a doubt, that North Korea is capable of designing and building a nuclear weapon capable of destroying the center of a large city. The physical size of the device is unknown; when the United States built it's first nuclear weapons, they were huge devices that would not fit on the end of even the most powerful modern ICBM. Even so, a weapon that will fit in the back of a truck is as deadly as one that can fit on the end of a missile with a 2000-mile range.

Our Commander-in-Chief, once again demonstrating that he and his inner circle are in over their heads, said that the nuclear test carried out on Saturday is "a grave concern for all nations". Wonderful. While certainly a true statement, who is actually going to do something about it? Who is actually going to make the tough decisions? Russia? Not a chance; they probably sell North Korea much of the material needed for their nuclear program.

What about China? No way. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and shares a very long border with the hermit kingdom. China understands that action against North Korea, especially military, would lead to a collapse of the government in Pyongyang and a steady stream of starving citizens seeking refuge in Chinese border towns. Beijing simply doesn't want to deal with what could quickly become the largest humanitarian crisis in all of human history.

The European Union? Please. We might as well ask the UN to do something substantial.

That leaves the United States. Some of you are asking yourselves why it matters that North Korea has nuclear weapons. After all, they are not a direct threat to us. They can threaten South Korea and Japan, both staunch allies of ours, but both of those nations have substantial military assets of their own. Once again, you see the US playing world policeman.

The problem is not North Korea having a Hiroshima-sized nuclear weapon. The problem is one of money----North Korea needs it and there are terrorist groups who have lots of it. If Bin Laden and company could get their hands on a nuclear weapon and use it in the United States, do you think they would? Only a lack of availability and hard work on the part of our intelligence services have kept the bad guys from getting a nuke. But North Korea is the only nation in the world that would sell such a weapon to a terrorist organization without considering the consequences. That's why it matters.

Were I in charge, I would make this promise to Kim Jong-Il or whoever is calling the shots now in Pyongyang: test another weapon or launch another missile and the United States, acting alone if necessary, will destroy North Korea's ability to produce anything related to radioactivity. Our Navy now possesses four SSGNs (Nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines) which carry 154 conventional cruise missiles each. These ships alone could remove North Korea from the "nuclear club" for a generation or more. I believe only the threat of their use would cause a re-evaluation of Pyongyang's policies.

Don't expect this to happen. President Obama will rely on the UN to condemn the test and then, to no one's surprise, do nothing. And the threat will grow.