Iraq or North Korea
Jan 25, 2003

There has been a constant flood of protestive notions through the American news media as to the wisdom of going to war in Iraq versus taking actions in the saga with North Korea which has in result somewhat suggested there is a hypocracy and/or lack of wisdom and vision in US foreign policy.
I submit to those of you who are concerned or confused that the media takes advantage of and counts on your lack of knowledge to invoke such notions.
US foreign policy is intact; Iraq is the proper course of action at this time for a multitude of reasons.
When considering the "Axis of Evil" and how to combat it, one can look at many scenarios and possibilities where the problems associated with can seem undending yet some solutions are more achievable in a quicker time frame than others .
Iraq is the logical first priority for many reasons but primarily for political and geographical reasons.
The Sadam Hussein regime has no friends, no allies. Brokering an alliance against Iraq merely has to do with money and trade assurances from those who have no trouble accepting Hussein's money.
Inside the beltway Saddam Hussein is known as the toothless tiger, there will be no fights in the streets of Baghdad and my guess is that Hussein is already planning his exodus from the country.
If the United States can occupy a presence in an Iraq with a western friendly established government this will provide some geographic resources as well. Iraq borders Syria and Iran and with yet another rouge state removed the US would have a close presence in getting a closer look as to the ongoings of Syria and Iran not to mention our so-called friends Saudi Arabia and least we not forget the considerable amount of oil that sits within the Iraqi borders. The US is not interested in conquering oil however it is interested in having access to free market oil and a western friendly new Iraqi government could provide that. A United States military interest in Iraq along with our resources in Kuwait could allow us a sort of "border patrol" of peculiar events taking place in Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Make no mistake about it, this has been well thought out and its going to happen soon. A confrontation with Iraq is justified based on Iraq's breach of its original surrender in 1991... A confrontation with Iraq is winnable.. easily so... this conflict will last a month if that and will potentially provide some long term security and stability while avoiding a future danger in the menacing Sadam Hussein.

North Korea, albeit a serious problem , does not offer the same advantages as does the undertaking in Iraq. The foreign policy equation is much different with North Korea and a confrontation at this time would not be good for the exact same reasons a confrontation in Iraq is good.
We already have a military presence along the DMV in Korea and our alliance with Japan gives us approximation in any conflicts with North Korea however North Korea does have friends, mainly China and the China of today is far more sociable than the one we encountered during the Korean War and the United States will allow respect that China take the lead in calming down this current conflict as much as possible.

A "Hussein free" Iraq is in essence a strategically planned out foreign policy initiative removing a rouge state, a manic dictator, and free flowing capital financing of Hamaas in Palestine while securing the potential of market priced oil and a well positioned US military presence in a key part of the middle east.