North Korea: Proliferating for Profit (NK -Middle East Nukes connection)

Debka Files ^ | Dec. 26, 2002 | Debka

[FairOpinion]

Pyongyang has its hand in nuclear programs and missile technology transfers with several Middle Eastern countries, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Iraq. Step by step, its engineers and technology have been quietly investing in the Libyan-Egyptian al Kufra nuclear center (where Iraqi nuclear scientists are also employed); its long-range missile components are assembled in Egyptian factories near Alexandria, Syria’s medium-range missile assembly plant and chemical and biological weapons laboratories near Hama in the north use North Korean components and technology and, as we reported last month, North Korea transferred nuclear manufacturing facilities, including uranium enrichment equipment, to secret Iranian sites at Natanz and Arak. These are all multibillion projects.

Any US military action in the Persian Gulf and Middle East would have to take those activities into account. In order to neutralize North Korea’s leverage in the Middle East, the United States has few options:

A. Negotiate North Korea’s disengagement from the Middle East and the Arab world. This would entail unacceptable American compromises ith regard to the scope and aims of North Korea’s nuclear program in Asia.

B. A personal appeal by President George W. Bush to the new Chinese president, Hu Jintao, and Russian president Vladimir Putin, asking them to lean hard on their North Korean neighbor to make him accommodate Washington’s demands and terminate his nuclear weapons program immediately and unconditionally.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s sources report that Bush did exactly that when he visited Beijing and Moscow last May, when Hu’s predecessor, Jiang Zemin, was still in office. He did not mince his words, warning both leaders that their relations with Washington were on the line over this issue.

The US President was astounded when he found himself politely but effectively rebuffed.

In fact, senior US administration officials have come to believe that Moscow and Beijing have a vested interest in North Korea’s nuclear and missile export programs to the Middle East. Our sources estimate they may be clearing up to one billion dollars a year each through the contribution of components or technology to some of those transactions.

For the moment, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s sources in Washington report, the Bush administration is divided over whether or not to tough it out with Kim Jong-Il – though not necessarily along the same lines as the attitudes on Saddam Hussein.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, the mandarins at State and CIA Director George Tenet prefer to defuse the crisis by diplomacy and steer clear of military confrontation. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice go along with this view - less because of the inherent hazards of nuclear war than for fear it will deflect the United States from its central thrust against Iraq.

[FairOpinion]

Remember, that at the beginning some people were questioning why did Bush include N. Korea as a member of the "Axis of Evil"? Now it is becoming obvious to everyone.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

IMO, we need a large-scale version of the "settling family business" event in the move "The Godfather". While we are stomping Iraq, we should simultaneously take out ALL of these other targets, including the reactors and WMD production facilities in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria. We can say it was collateral damage.

[Constitutional Patriot]

I'd be all for removing the stalinist regime from N. Korea in addition to your suggestion.

[FairOpinion]

While we are stomping Iraq, we should simultaneously take out ALL of these other targets, including the reactors and WMD production facilities in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria.
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I like the way you think!
It may actually come to that.

Seems like some of these countries think that we will be too busy with Iraq to pay attention to them, while they are trying to their evil deeds.

I think we can fight any number of wars at the same time, if we start dropping nukes, which of course isn't the preferred solution, but if some countries just don't seem to know what's good for them, making examples out of them may be necessary.

[Orion78]

"The failure of US policy makers to comprehend the veiled aggressiveness and hostil-ity towards the United States inherent in Sino-Russian strategy and the belief that the political and economic reforms in Russia and the partial introduction of capitalism in China have foreshadowed these countries' development into real democracies, have eroded the effectiveness of US policies in the foreign affairs, defence, intelligence and counter-intelligence fields. US policymakers have recklessly accepted the premise that Russia and China are no longer their enemies, but are rather potential allies and partners fully deserving of US support. Only countries like Iran, Iraq and North Korea - which (ironically, in this context) work secretly with Russia and China - are still considered potential adversaries.

US policymakers should urgently re-examine their assumptions about the 'progress' of Russia and China 'towards democracy'. They should take account of Sino-Russian strategy and should recognise that the long-term strategic, political and economic threat comes from a Sino-Russian axis and associated participants like North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Russian and Chinese leaders are still committed to their objective of world domination and believe that, disguised as 'democrats', in accordance with Leninist teaching, they will be able to achieve it..."

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See my home page for collaborating links.

[Sabertooth]