ZGram - 12/31/2002 - "As 2002 draws to a close..."

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

December 31, 2002

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

Waning Prospects for Peace in 2003?
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
December 31, 2002
As 2002 draws to a close, the prospects for peace seem bleak in the 
world's troubled Middle East region. Afghanistan remains in chaos, 
despite the ouster of the Taliban regime by American forces. Israel 
and the occupied West Bank territories suffer terrible incidents of 
violence almost daily, forcing the cancellation of Christmas 
celebrations in Bethlehem. Although the administration has not yet 
ordered a full-scale military mobilization into Iraq, war hawks in 
the Pentagon and Defense department assure us that such an attack is 
imminent.

Yet even in the midst of this Middle East turmoil, an unsettling new 
threat has arisen in North Korea. The authoritarian Kim Jong-il 
regime recently announced that it would move forward with a nuclear 
weapons program, poisoning its already hostile diplomatic 
relationship with Washington. The Koreans allegedly opened seals on 
thousands of irradiated fuel rods, and removed UN monitoring cameras 
at a nuclear reactor that was earlier shut down by treaty. Some 
military observers believe the North Koreans can produce four or five 
nuclear weapons in the next six months.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld quickly responded to the North Koreans by 
declaring that the United States can fight simultaneous wars with 
Iraq and North Korea if necessary. But can we be certain this is 
true, especially after the demoralizing reductions in our military 
strength during the Clinton years? Does this mean we will stretch our 
military forces even thinner, to fight three or five or ten 
conflicts, if necessary to play world policeman in the new American 
empire?

The seriousness of the North Korean threat is evidenced by strong 
reactions from France, Britain, Japan, Russia, and even China. In 
fact, a recent poll showed that an overwhelming number of Americans 
view North Korea as more of a threat than Iraq.

How tragic that after 50 years of Korean occupation by American 
troops, our citizens feel more threatened by that nation than ever. 
Thousands of Americans lost their lives in the Korean war, and 
thousands more have risked their lives serving in the desolate DMZ 
that separates North and South Korea. Yet all we can show for half a 
century of military and political entanglement in Korea is today's 
heightened nuclear tensions. Even the South Koreans, whose very lives 
our soldiers protect, have grown weary of American demonization of 
the North, showing a desire for more openness and negotiations 
between the two countries. In fact, the recently elected South Korean 
president won votes by displaying some anti-American sentiment.

After a horrific fifteen years in Vietnam, we removed our troops 
completely from the region. Today, our nation enjoys friendly 
diplomatic and trade relations with that country, and we've been able 
to heal some of the pain experienced by both our GIs and the 
Vietnamese people. Somehow, we seem unable to apply the same lesson 
to Korea.

The good news is that public support for an invasion of Iraq has 
diminished, and the situation in Korea will only raise more questions 
about the wisdom of a second Gulf war. If the argument for invading 
Iraq is based on the threat it poses to American national security, a 
much stronger argument can be made for invading North Korea. Many 
Americans now believe Saddam Hussein can be neutralized without 
sending U.S troops into Baghdad. With tens of thousands of young 
American soldiers already active in Afghanistan, and hundreds of 
thousands ready to deploy in Iraq, the possibility of a third 
conflict in Korea may be too much for even the loudest pro-war voices 
in Washington to sell to the American public.

Ron Paul, M.D., represents the 14th Congressional District of Texas 
in the United States House of Representatives.