Ya know...planning possible attacks on Iran and North Korea only proves their point in getting nuclear weapons...we might attack them! So they better get in on the M.A.D. plan before its too late. Anyway there is a very good alternative which takes time but would instill permanent change inside the nation...free-market capitalism! The societies in China and Saudi Arabia are slowly liberalizing as we do trade with them. Why not do trade with the Irans, Cubas, and North Koreas of the world? It may seem like we are caving in to dictators, but in order to stay competitive in a capitalist nation, you have to spread ideas and concepts in order to fill niches and continue to be successful or start to be successful. Is it any coincidence that the nations with the freest markets have the freest lives?
And also, wouldn't it be best if that was our policy and we left the manpower to defend the homeland?
Yeah, that's an ideal outcome, and I'll bet they're shooting for it. But I think they're making them a deal they can't refuse, nukes on one hand, freedom on the other.
All NK has to export is starving people, drugs, counterfeit currency, and weapons.
So, a McDonalds on every corner and Walmart in every village is the answer, huh?
Capitalism in and of itself is cause of aggression. So what happens when the whole world practices capitalism and every nation competes for the finite resources? The one with the biggest stick will get the most. That's the way it's been and that's the way it will be.
" It may seem like we are caving in to dictators,"
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IT IS caving to Dictators. You don't spread freedom and democracy by giving in to and propping up dictators who want to destroy us.
"The societies in China and Saudi Arabia are slowly liberalizing as we do trade with them."
15 years ago Chinese students were willing to die for democracy. Today Chinese students are willing to die to get a Japanese head on a pike. 15 years ago Chinese students erected a replica of the statue of Liberty. Today they revile the United States and couldn't care less about democratic reforms as long as they can get a good job and a nice car. Dreams of democracy have given way to dreams of Asian domination and superpower status. The recent prosperity in China has given the CCP a new mandate among the people and enabled them to build up their military to a point that it has become a threat to U.S. interests and U.S. allies in the region. You want to extend that model to Iran, Cuba, and North Korea?
France, Germany, Japan, and virtually all other industrialized Western countries have no restictions on trading with Cuba yet they are not investing in that country or in North Korea. The reason is called "communism."
The myth that the US boycott is keeping Cuba poor is just that, a myth. It's one broadcast by Castro and parroted here by lefties and by the ignorant.
I might agree with you about China given the vast amount of corruption. I doubt they'll kill their golden goose (trade with the West). If the Chinese economy collapses, it's hard to predict what they may do to retain power and distract the populace. Iran and North Korea are cut from different cloth. Iran is a state sponsor of Islamic fundamentalism. North Korea exists for the benefit of one nutcase and his family. Neither will allow capitalism to flourish unimpeded.
North Korea's dependence on selling missiles and who knows what else, nuclear warheads perhaps, for hard cash will eventually create a problem the world will regret. It's not impossible for a New York City or Washington D.C. to be hit. Those are prime targets.
I'm waiting for the bunker buster sale to Iasrael to be consumated. With luck we can add Iran and North Korea to the list which includes Iraq and Libya as nations no longer interested in nuclear weapons. I'm betting that will happen before 2008.
I think it's more accurate to say that we are planning on attacking them because they are plannning on getting nukes in order to attack us.
The problem with that is that the dictator becomes extremely rich and can cause more damage because he gets better technology usually supplied by countries soon to be the next victim. Selling or giving the technology to these dictators creates our own demise.
Total embargo by every country is required or those who do trade also get embargoed.