It has been four weeks since 1400 civilians were gassed in Syria, and although the main stream media covered the events unfolding in the Middle East and in the United States, little attention was paid to what was occurring in the Far East. For example: On September 5th Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a message of congratulations to North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un. It seems North Korea was celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is the North’s official name.
Assad extended his “sincere congratulations” to Kim and “the friendly people” of his country. The Korean Central News Agency also reported that Assad had taken steps to strengthen relations between Syria and North Korea.
The day before, on September 4th, South Korea’s defense minister, Kim Min-Seok, called attention to North Korea’s chemical weapons. Min-Seok went on to say, “We believe there has been a chemical weapons connection between North Korea and Syria.” It is believed North Korea has some five thousand tons or ten million pounds of chemical weapons which are deliverable by artillery or missiles. It is obvious that when the Obama administration mentions “other rogue nations” being embolden they are speaking of North Korea.
While President Obama was attending the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, James Miller was on his way to Beijing, China to try and get China’s support for military action against Syria. Miller met with Wang Guanzhong, the Chinese army’s deputy chief of staff on Monday, September 9th.
After the meeting on Monday, Miller told reporters he had emphasized the massive chemical weapons arsenal that North Korea has, and that we didn’t want North Korea to feel the threshold for using chemical weapons had been lowered. Miller believes it would be in China’s interest to support a strong response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons.
Apparently China disagrees and has joined Russia in blocking action against Syria at the United Nations Security Council. They also oppose strikes on Syria and believe political talks should be used to end the violence.
In the evening of September 10th President Obama addressed the nation and asked the Congress to delay a vote authorizing a military strike against Syria, because Russian President Putin had put forth a plan to secure Syria’s chemical weapons.
It was apparent that Obama was and continues to be indecisive and has no back-up plan if these talks or a military strike goes south. It was also apparent that Putin had out maneuvered Obama again. It seems Putin is able to play our President like a fiddle.
Quote for the Week: “The price of your hat isn’t the measure of your brain!”---Unknown.
posted with permission from the writer
