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So, the inevitable happened: North Korea launched a missile. Of course, they’re claiming it was just a “satellite” being launched into orbit. Right.
North Korea defied international warnings and sent a rocket hurtling over the Pacific on Sunday, a launch President Barack Obama called an illicit test of the regime’s long-range missile technology that threatened the security of nations “near and far.”
Obama and European Union leaders meeting in Prague condemned the move and said North Korea’s dangerous defiance demanded an international response. Diplomats at the United Nations scheduled an emergency Security Council session for later Sunday to discuss what Obama called a clear violation of U.N. resolutions.
South Korea and the U.S. military disputed North Korea’s claim of a successful launch into space, saying the rocket fell into the ocean in stages.
“North Korea broke the rules once more by testing a rocket that could be used for a long-range missile,” Obama said. “This provocation underscores the need for action — not just this afternoon at the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons.”
He said the launch threatened the security of countries “near and far.”
North Korea says it successfully sent its “Kwangmyongsong-2” satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful bid to develop its space program. The claim comes just days before North Korea’s authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Il, presides over the first session of the country’s new parliament in his first major public appearance since reportedly suffering a stroke last August.
The U.S. and South Korea say no satellite or other object reached orbit Sunday, and joined Japan and other countries in accusing the North of using the launch to test the delivery system for its long-range missile technology — a step toward eventually mounting a nuclear weapon on a missile capable of reaching Alaska and beyond.
“North Korea’s development of a ballistic missile capability, regardless of the stated purpose of this launch, is aimed at providing it with the ability to threaten countries near and far with weapons of mass destruction,” a joint EU-U.S. statement said.
Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes. Warships did not activate interceptors because no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.
As of right now, we have missile defense systems that can protect us. But seing as how Obama’s position on missile defense keeps changing, who knows how long that protection will last? And who says that he’d even be willing to employ him? His laughable reaction to North Korea’s missile launching was to… issue a strongly worded declaration condemning it and asking them not to do it again.
Seriously. And his first international crisis test comes just one day after he asked for a worldwide end to nuclear weapons.
North Korea’s development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology pose a threat to the northeast Asian region and to international peace and security. The launch today of a Taepo-dong 2 missile was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind. With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations.
We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council. I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions.
Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is a high priority for my administration. The United States is fully committed to maintaining security and stability in northeast Asia and we will continue working for the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks. The Six-Party Talks provide the forum for achieving denuclearization, reducing tensions, and for resolving other issues of concern between North Korea, its four neighbors, and the United States. North Korea has a pathway to acceptance in the international community, but it will not find that acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and abides by its international obligations and commitments.
Wow… North Korea defies a UN resolution, and Obama’s response is to ask them not to do it again… or else he’ll be forced to go down there and actually (GASP!!) talk to them. And don’t forget that he’ll be threatening North Korea with being pushed out of the Popular Countries Club. Apparently, Kim Jong Il is really concerned with being accepted by Obama and his buddies in Europe.
This is Obama’s version of tough, smart diplomacy? Really? North Korea defies a UN resolution, passed by the most important organization EVAH according to liberals, and then we turn around and show how utterly useless UN resolutions are by doing nothing more than scolding someone who defied a UN resolution?
Of course, we should do nothing more than be diplomatic. We have to talk to Kim Jong Il. We can’t push too hard.
And meanwhile, Kim Jong Il is laughing his ass off because he knows he got off scot free. Yet we’re supposed to trust that Obama can and will take on an enemy that poses a serious threat to us, even though he’s apparently willing to do nothing more except issue a sternly worded statement. Consider that 57% of Americans apparently favor a military response to North Korea’s missile launch, in order to eliminate their missile launching capabilities. Only 15% oppose a military response. And it’s not just Republicans either — 52% of Democrats and 54% of Independents favor it as well.
How many of you are missing that cowboy Bush’s Reign of Terror yet?
If we manage to make it through the next four years without a single attack on US soil, it will be a miracle.
Mark says: Boy, I can just hear & see those North Koreans now, holding their hands to their ears and crying out, “No more, Mr. Obama, or else our sides will split from your toothless threats!” “This is more funny than that ‘RESET’ button!” “Oh please UN, save us from the Comedian-in-Chief!”
MScott says: Kinda hard to look like a tough guy when you’re talking behind a teleprompter. Didn’t the One say on the campaign trail that he was going to save us money by disassembling our missile defense system because it was unproven? (never mind that soon after we shot down a satellite or something) Here he’s had his big meeting on the world’s stage in the UK, and he still thinks we can all sit down at a campfire and sing Kumbaya and al the world’s problems will be solved. Now he wants the world to be nuclear free? Yeah, right . . . NKorea and Iran will be all for it so when they launch theirs, nobody will be able to shoot back.
And yes, I’m missing the cowboy standing on a pile of rubble in NYC when he said we’d be coming for them . . . .
Since Bush didn’t have the will to blow up either Iran’s or North Korea’s Nuclear capabilities, what makes anyone think the Messiah can do anything? Why don’t we just ask the Iranians which city they want wiped off the map and do it for them? At least this will save all the half-measures and wasted time dealing with the UN.
Well, the North Koreans got what they wanted: more data to fine-tune their missile program. I guess what we (well, the Democrats anyway) wanted: we look like chumps…again.
For some reason, this country like to collectively shoot itself in the foot, on a continual basis.
Cylar says: And to think it would have been so easy to simply move the US 7th Fleet into the Sea of Japan, fire a Tomahawk cruise missile, and blow that rocket all to pieces. And then a 2nd missile aimed at destroying the launch facility itself.
The consequences be damned. Is North Korea (or China) really going to start a regional (or world) war over the US “taking out” something that was prohibited by UN resolution? Nah. There would have been some angry words down at the UN, and that would have been the end of it.
Kind of like we’re seeing now, actually. Except rogue nations around the world would have been reminded that the US reserves the right to strike pre-emptively at threats to its security or that of its allies.
It’s what President Fred Thompson would have done. Man I wish he’d gotten past the primaries.
Jesse in South FL says: Where, praytell, is Joe Biden? During the campaign we had it shoved down our throats that Biden was the one with the most foreign-policy experience. He was trumpeted as being Obama’s foreign-policy safety-net…more experience than Obama, Palin, and even McCain. Yet, even after all these SNAFU’s on the global stage, the only time I’ve seen the name “Biden” in print recently was concerning his daughter. What gives?
I mean, they promoted his experience all throughout the campaign…they surely must have meant it, right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
This reminds me of modern, liberal parents: “Don’t throw candy all over the grocery store, or I’ll be forced to tell you ‘No’ a second time!”
Cassy, you’re right that we would be lucky to make it another four years without an attack on US soil, but I suspect that it’s the middle of the next decade that is our biggest concern. These groups need time to plan their attacks (9/11 planning began in the mid- to late- 90s), and, moreover, they’re going to wait to benefit from the reductions in military spending.
Obama is killing R&D projects left and right. What he fails to understand, since he’s an idiot who has never worked in the corporate nor research worlds, is that the stuff we are building now is not going to be used in Iraq and Afghanistan now; it’s going to be used in case someone attacks us 10 years from now.
So in 10 years, these groups will have had plenty of time to see that Obama is not into actually fighting, has weakened our military force, killed R&D for new toys, and will have planned. A lot. That is when we are going to get smoked, and we won’t be able to fight back.
bobv says: I wonder when all this “goodwill” flowing in from other countries will kick in, when will they actually chip in and help us deal with this guy?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
JMT says: I’m sure the UN will send in Hans Blix to search for harder evidence of WMD’s before they decide to do anything. Certainly before they send him *GASP* a LETTER condemning his actions.
What is our nation’s interest in being in the UN?
Didn’t we break away from Europe in 1776 for a reason? I’m all for dropping out and developing our own nukes. No one will mess with us.
Screw the UN.
What was the Bush administration’s reaction to North Korea’s 2006 missile launch? From the AP in 2006, “”We are urgently consulting with members of the Security Council,” said John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.” That’s right, a strongly worded statement from the Cowboy. Nice site by the way.
So your advocating starting a 3rd front against the “War on Terror?” You want to invoke yet another regional conflict to “teach them Commies a lesson?” You want America to enter into armed conflict with a nation of over a million person army risking 1000s of lives over a failed rocket launch that killed no one? You want to risk allies like Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and the Philippines being struck in retaliation just to see them bombs drop???
You are ridiculous and young and have no ideal what your talking (blogging) about. Go shoot your gun at paper targets and leave international diplomacy to the grown ups little child…War is not a game!
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