Iran And North Korea

What do these two nations have in common? Both have and are nuclear powers. Both have the been voted unanimously to have sanctions imposed on them. And both interestingly are defiant. The only difference is there politics one is an Islamic dictatorship and the other pretends to be a communist nation. Politics do make strange bed fellows and this must be one of the strangest.

Where North Korea is impoverished Iran is actually quite well off. Benefit of oil. Selling it to both Soviet Russia and now Russia. As well as to China from time to time. Iran has pursued nuclear power since 1979 when the Islamic regime came to power. This is an old issue that has been quietly percolating since that time.

But now the U.N. has decided to do something. Sanctions. Iran and North Korea believe that this is a joke. I wonder is this something that is a new thinking on the part of such countries that have in the past supported and even encouraged these nations to pursue nuclear power. That in spite of what the U.S. has maintained. Such nations with nuclear capabilities can only lead to destabilizing the regions that they are in. As well as being a threat to the rest of the world.

Today it appears the U. N. and the rest of the world are finally waking up to this ongoing threat. Amazingly the U.N has taken steps to recognize that threat by imposing Sanctions. This is a good start. Though what will be the next step is now being debated. Iran and North Korea will be defiant in the hopes that history will repeat. The U.N. makes a lot of noise. Then forgets and everything returns to what it was.

Maybe before 9/11. But today both Russia and China are voting along with the rest of the security council. Something that has not been done since The Korean war. Yes, the sanctions against Iran came after some tough notations. However, it is still important that these sanctions still have bite. Which is still far better than some of the sanctions that have been imposed in the past.

The Bush Administration had wanted tougher sanctions. The U.N. is not about to do that. Not yet anyways. Personally I think that Both China and Russia are finally coming around to the idea that nations like Iran and North Korea that have nuclear capabilities are a larger threat than at first thought. Yes, it made sense to use these countries as way to tweak the U.S. nose. Now a new day is a dawning.

A day that has China reevaluating what North Korea means to China and how willing they are to allow a nuclear nation that close to its borders. Both Iran and North Korea have shown that they are willing to to use any means to achieve an agenda. That could include the use of nuclear weapons. Both are willing to use terrorism as a weapon. Both use rhetoric that can be disturbing. As it is not all rhetoric that has been demonstrated from time to time.

So cheers to the U.N. for stepping up. And to both China and Russia for finally recognizing that Iran and North Korea need to be stopped before a tragedy occurs.