Looking at the situation in Korea, and then comparing it to that in Iraq, I think that it is quite likely that we will see a solution to the Korean Problem first. Time is on North Korea's side, as it gives them the opportunity to make even more nukes. Right now they have 2-6, and in six months, after Iraq is out of the way, could easily have a dozen. This is unacceptable. That many weapons would allow NK to blackmail South Korea, Japan and the US. President Bush knows this, so I expect him to authorize airstrikes against NK nuclear facilities, and probably other WMD sites, sometime in late Jan. or early Feb. This will be done after the first wave of US forces reaches the Middle East, but not the second. That way, should North Korea attack the South in response, the US will have forces that it can still move from the states to South Korea.
Iraq can wait, but North Korea can not. The possiblity of a second Korean war is higher now than it has ever been before, so there is the possiblility that Saddam may have to wait until later this year. |