In what could be described only as lame, the U.N. Security Council said this about North Korea’s recent rocket launch:
“The Security Council bears in mind the importance of maintaining peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in northeast Asia as a whole. The Security Council condemns the 5 April 2009 (local time) launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which is in contravention of Security Council resolution 1718 (2006).
“The Security Council reiterates that the DPRK must comply fully with its obligations under Security Council resolution 1718 (2006).
“The Security Council demands that the DPRK not conduct any further launch.
“The Security Council also calls upon all Member States to comply fully with their obligations under resolution 1718 (2006). … “The Security Council expresses its desire for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the situation and welcomes efforts by Council members as well as other Member States to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue.”
North Korea defies the world and violates U.N. resolutions, and the U.N. Security Council condemns the action by this muted response, which focuses on “maintaining peace”? There is nothing in the statement to strike fear in the hearts of the rogue state’s leaders and officials. They’re just words, inert and ineffective.
Access the Council’s page here, and read the full text here.
Heritage Analyst Bruce Klingner talks about how the United Nations should respond to the North Korea Missile Test on MSNBC. Klingner is the Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
Earlier this month, North Korea said it would launch a communications satellite sometime during the first week of April. The Associated Press reports that the U.S., Japan, and South Korea will be monitoring the launch.
The U.S. has sent missile-destroying ships to watch the situation. Japan has deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo and interceptor-armed warships near the country, and South Korea is sending its Aegis-equipped destroyer to the area.
All three countries suspect North Korea is using the launch as a cover to test long-range missile technology, which would result in United Nations sanctions. After failing to give notification for previous launches, which the U.N. called dangerous and provocative, North Korea is providing ample warning this time around. North Korea knows the launch violates U.N. resolutions, but hopes issuing a warning will keep negative comments and admonitions to a minimum and provide China and Russia with an incentive to also buck U.N. resolutions.
Additionally, North Korea has detained a South Korean worker after he criticized the government, increasing tension between the two countries.
On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. will not intercept the rocket.
“I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it,” Gates said on FOX News Sunday. “But I don’t think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point.”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country won’t place Iskander short-range missiles in Kaliningrad, which it threatened to do if the U.S. moved forward with plans to build missile defense shields in Central Europe.
Newsweek speculates that Russia changed its mind because the Obama administration is taking an appeasement approach in exchange for the former Soviet Union’s help with Iran:
“The Kremlin certainly knows that it’s in its interest to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and recently it has made steps in that direction. Last year Russia voted for United Nations sanctions and has been putting pressure on Iran in less visible ways. A Russian state-controlled company, Atomstroiexport, has been building Iran’s first civilian nuclear-power plant at Bushehr since 1995. But work has now slowed to a crawl…”
Newsweek‘s Owen Matthews is as skeptical as we are. Even if Russia agrees to help the U.S., it doesn’t preclude Russia engaging in nefarious activities like supplying Iran with arms, which it did as recent as last year. (Iran claims to have been acquiring the system to protect itself from an attack by Israel.) Russia figures it will need Iran for leverage.
Our advice to President Obama: Honor our agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic and negotiate with Russia.
Late last month, Israel launched air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza in response to Hamas rocket attacks in Israel. For the past nine days, Israel and the Islamic group have traded fire. Israel commenced ground attacks last week, which were criticized by Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, among others.
The U.S. State Department called for a ceasefire this week between Israel and Hamas.
“We would like an immediate ceasefire, absolutely,” said spokesman Sean McCormack. “An immediate ceasefire that is durable, sustainable and not time-limited.”
The State Department has sent Secretary Condoleezza Rice to the United Nations to discuss the ceasefire. The U.N. and “Arab diplomats” have also called for an end to the fighting between the two forces. The U.N. estimates over 500 Palestinians have been killed, as well as a “handful” of Israelis. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose party was ousted from Gaza in 2007, visited the U.N. this week.
According to Newsday, the U.S. blocked the U.N. Security Council from issuing a ceasefire statement.
President-elect Barack Obama has finally spoken out on the conflict. He said “the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me…After Jan. 20 I’m going to have plenty to say about the issue, and I am not backing away at all from what I said during the campaign, that starting at the beginning of our administration, we are going to be engaged effectively and consistently in trying to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. That’s something I am committed to.”
Earlier this month, we blogged about Iran’s threat to deploy Shahab-3 missiles in retaliation against Israel if it preemptively strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has evidence that Tehran, Iran’s capital, secretly tried to modify a Shabab-3 missile cone to fit a nuclear payload.
Israel News reports that Iran denies the claim as a fabrication, although the watchdog agency provided documents and photos to the contrary. An excerpt of the article:
“Iran said an IAEA inquiry into its nuclear activity was at a dead-end because the agency was demanding Tehran reveal conventional military secrets without nuclear dimensions. Iran has denied seeking atom bombs.
“Britain has accused Iran of showing contempt for the UN watchdog and, with the United States and France, vowed to seek harsher sanctions on Tehran over its defiance of UN demands for full disclosure and a suspension of uranium enrichment.”
According to the IAEA, Iran is also involved in uranium enrichment, which is capable of making nuclear fuel or warhead payloads, although a U.S. intelligence report stated last year that Tehran “stopped all direct work” by 2003.
In what could be described only as lame, the U.N. Security Council said this about North Korea’s recent rocket launch:
The U.S. has sent missile-destroying ships to watch the situation. Japan has deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo and interceptor-armed warships near the country, and South Korea is sending its Aegis-equipped destroyer to the area.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country won’t place Iskander short-range missiles in Kaliningrad, which it threatened to do if the U.S. moved forward with plans to build missile defense shields in Central Europe.
Earlier this month, we blogged about Iran’s threat to deploy Shahab-3 missiles in retaliation against Israel if it preemptively strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has evidence that Tehran, Iran’s capital, secretly tried to modify a Shabab-3 missile cone to fit a nuclear payload.