BTL:Bush Reaction to North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program Contrasts Sharply with...

...War Drive Against Iraq.Interview with David Wright,of the Union of Concerned Scientists by Between The Lines'Scott Harris.

Bush Reaction to North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program Contrasts Sharply with War Drive Against Iraq

Interview with David Wright,of the Union of Concerned Scientists by Between The Lines'Scott Harris

As Congress debated a resolution in early October to provide President Bush the authority to take military action against Iraq, the White House kept secret for 12 days a North Korean admission that it was pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. But when the administration publicly responded to North Korea's nuclear project with a call for quiet diplomacy, critics raised questions about the consistency of U.S. policy -- contrasting Bush's measured approach to Pyongyang with his demand for "regime change" in Baghdad through military force.

George W. Bush came into office openly hostile to a 1994 agreement between the U.S. and North Korea which provided western energy assistance to the impoverished nation in exchange for a pledge from leader Kim Jong II to freeze his government's effort to develop nuclear weapons. North Korea admitted to maintaining a covert nuclear program only after U.S. officials confronted them with evidence that they were in violation of the agreement. But Pyongyang, labeled by Washington as part of the "axis of evil," placed the blame on the U.S. for taking steps which forced them to nullify the accord.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with David Wright, co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, who examines the Bush administration's response to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and the effectiveness of U.S. policies on limiting the global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Contact the Union of Concerned Scientists at (617) 547-5552 or visit their Web site at www.ucusa.org.

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the differences between Iraq and N. Korea are significant and too numerous to list.

Perhaps the most significant is that N. Korea, being in possession of nuclear weapons, is a far more dangerous enemy.

If we do nothing with respect to Iraq, it will without doubt become as dangerous as N. Korea, and we will lose the ability to take out this murderous thug. Hence the term pre-emptive. . . we aim to stop Saddam from acquiring the capacity N. Korea has.

...yeah, for one thing Iraq has OIL....

...everything else is stupid Republican equivocation...

...I've already contributed the one word that sums it all up for anyone with any sense...

...OIL...

It's ok KPC. Nobody listens to these halfwits except themselves anyway, though I do from time to time read their comments and tear them to little tiny pieces.