North Korea Iran Connection

Japanese intelligence officials are alerting the world that North Korea is about to conduct a nuclear test. In response China and South Korea have declared that they will work together to prevent it from happening. This is very bad news for world stability, because China and South Korea are the least confrontational members of the group of nations dealing with the issue.

If North Korea is given any form of concessions at this point, Iran will take notice that the world doesn't have the guts to confront a nation who has the bomb, and thus will surely complete their uranium enrichment and build their own arsenal of nuclear bombs. And the danger posed by North Korea, while extremely troubling, is nothing compared to what the world would face with a nuclear armed Iran, intent on destroying Israel and imposing an Islamic state throughout the entire region.

North Korea should be made to understand that a nuclear test, would itself be considered an act of war, and that from that point forward, any missile launch of any kind from North Korea would be considered nuclear and the US (and hopefully, China and Russia as well) would immediately respond with nuclear weapons. This is essentially the policy of 'mutually assured destruction" that worked very well during the Cold War. Iran would have to take notice of this tough action. Anything short of it would give Iran the green light to carry on with their nuclear ambitions, and if Iran is going to be stopped, it better be done before they have nuclear bombs.

It does not appear that North Korea has any grand global designs, and thus would be contained by the nuclear threat. However, Iran is another story and we cannot rely on the hope that the concept of mutually assured destruction would keep them in a box. Ahmadinejad is motivated by his religious beliefs that provide the justification for him to create chaos and havoc. A nuclear exchange just may be something he is willing to contemplate. We must stop him before his nuclear goal is met.