The North Korean Boogeyman

As I am sure many of you have heard, North Korea launched a rocket last week over the Pacific Ocean. Many people are declaring North Korea is a real threat to American security. (I think I heard that same argument in 2002. Something about Saddam Hussein and his link to Al-Qaeda) Yes, North Korea is believed to have a nuclear bomb. Yes, Kim Jong Il is crazy. Refer here. Yes they have a million man army. And yes, they have developed a long range missile. Sort of.

The missile developed by the North Koreans was a complete failure. Stage 3 of the rocket crashed and burned into the Pacific Ocean. It was an improvement over the last rocket they developed which only successfully completed Stage 1. Also, the payload of the rocket was only 300 lbs. Far short of the standard one ton nuclear payload. In conclusion, North Korea is basically bringing a knife to a gun fight.

This was the third failed rocket launch since 1998 for North Korea. In comparison, the United States accomplished this feat in the 1950s. The North Koreans are not looking to bomb anyone. They just want leverage and use fear to gain it. Every time they detonate a bomb or launch a rocket the United Nations go running to North Korea giving them incentives to stop.

The international community is in many ways encouraging this behavior by North Korea. We should definitely keep an eye on North Korea and be wary of their actions. However, we do not need to start beating the war drums and start discussing military actions. Because what America needs is another unnecessary war.