NEWS: Report: North Korea May Have Sold Uranium

A recent investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies and government scientists have found evidence that North Korea may have sold processed uranium. The chief recipient of the material appears to have been Lybia. The data comes from the uranium hexafluoride that Lybia turned over when it came clean with its program.



One of the reasons as I have said many times before that Iran is so hell bent on its nuclear program is that they see the kids glove approach the rest of the world takes with the clearly insane Kim. No doubt they wish to wield that same influence. Its going to be tough to keep every two bit dictator from crashing a program unless the world takes charge and puts a stop to it.

Is he really insane ? If he manages to get the kids glove approach and stay in power he must be playing his bad cards out in a brilliant way ?

But true, while we can only speculate about worrying offensive intentions for their nuclear program, it's clear the Iranians have recognised the value of nukes as deterrent against a forced regime changed by external parties....


[edit on 2-2-2005 by Countermeasures]

Kidnappings, Methamphetamine trafficking, tunnels under the DMZ, minisubs around the DMZ, Dear Leader is not insane nor is he an idiot. His survival depends on the military which eats up almost all of NK's GNP. Hard currency is neccessary for his survival and he'll get it wherever he can.

Kim is the master of brinksmanship. He knows when to bluster and when to pull back. The Iraninan wild card has surely upset the balance in his game.

This story should point out one of the success stories that can be attributed to the Iraqi war that has been downplayed by the media - namely that Libya when caught with the goods gave them up in fear of what would happen if they chose to do otherwise - yes Quaddafi blinked.

The other lesson is the fact that a policy of containment and engagement through diplomacy, sanctions and deals with dictators is prone to failure. Iraq under Saddam was one example while North Korea is another. Soon Iran will go down this road unfortunately for all involved.

The absolute threat of military strength ultimately seems to be the only solution understood the dictators and religious zealots.

A day will come when those who claim "what right do we have" will cower in their basements (if they have one) wondering what went wrong with all their plans and aspirations for peace.

If you are against emotionally unstable people possessing firearms then you should be against emotionally unstable dictatorships and mullacracies having even the remotest nuclear capability.

I for one am continually flabergasted by those who defend the further spread of nuclear material and technology in the name of national right to the worlds peril. Many are the same people that called for disarmament in the 80's - what happened to that cause where we now find these same people or their political heirs calling for the "right" of another country to possess the ability to have nuclear weapons.

The Bush administration's claim this week that North Korea appears to have been the supplier of converted uranium to Libya is based on evidence that could just as easily point to Pakistan, a key U.S. ally, as the source, according to analysts and officials familiar with the data.

Source: Washington Post