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February 13, 2012
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February 9, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
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February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 28, 2009
/ 5 Sivan 5769
Today, North Korea; Tomorrow, Iran
By
Paul Greenberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It may be shocking but it could scarcely have been a surprise:
The crazy aunt in the world's attic has been playing around with nuclear weapons again, this time setting off an even bigger underground explosion possibly one big enough to wipe out a city the size of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. To which the five veto-wielding powers at the United Nations have responded much as they did the first couple of times the North Korean regime defied the UN by setting off nukes: with oh-so-serious, oh-so-official statements.
Just as before, empty words will have no discernible effect on Kim Jong Il's regime and family business. The Kims, freres et fils, know the drill by now: The world huffs and puffs while Kim & Co. become an ever clearer and more dangerous threat.
It's not clear how becoming a nuclear power will help North Korea's starving people, but their welfare has never been of paramount importance to their rulers, or of any importance at all. The Kims run their gulag of a country for their own and their party's benefit. The way the Brothers Castro run Cuba.
North Korea's own Maximum Leader may hope to blackmail the rest of the world into supplying his regime with food, power plants, and associated benefits. Why not? It's worked before. During the Clinton administration, for example. Maybe the formerly pudgy, now ailing little dictator is after something less tangible, like respect or at least a show of it. Or maybe the current ruling Kim doesn't know exactly what he wants, but just likes to see others quake in fear. Which is how tyrants get their jollies.
The loose coalition being organized to deter Pyongyang notably South Korea, Japan and the United States may or may not be able to prevent the North Koreans from exporting their bomb to terrorist groups and regimes. An even tighter watch on North Korea's shipping would help; so would a meaningful attempt to shut that rogue regime out of the world's financial system.
All the idle talk in the world, and there's a surfeit of it, did not prevent the North Koreans from exporting their nuclear know-how to a terrorist regime like Syria's not long ago. It was Israeli action for the Israelis said not a word which put an end to that secretive deal. Not till the rest of the world is willing to take action, not just repeat empty phrases, is North Korea likely to cease and desist from its nuclear ambitions.
The failure of deterrence in one part of the world can't be limited to just that part of the world. Iran's regime is watching and learning lessons from North Korea's defiance of the United Nations, which continues to outdo its ill-fated predecessor, the old League of Nations, at doing nothing.
It's not just the UN that has adopted temporizing as a substitute for a policy. The other day Barack Obama gave Iran a green light for its nuclear program by saying Washington will wait till the end of the year before doing anything about the growing nuclear threat from Iran and even then this country's response may consist only of words, not action.
Meeting with the once and again Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president gave Israel a red light. His administration has made no secret of its opposition to the Israelis' acting alone to forestall an Iranian Bomb, but if the Israelis are not for themselves, who will be for them? They learned long ago that, if they're not going to defend themselves, no one else will.
Having just seen how effective Washington has been at preventing North Korea from acquiring and testing nuclear weapons, why should the Israelis believe the United States will do any better at stopping Iran from acquiring its Bomb?
Israel is not likely to pay Washington overmuch attention in the face of this fast developing threat to its existence, for Iran's fuehrer has made no secret of his wanting to wipe the Jewish state off the map. For the Israelis, self-preservation may take priority over even good relations with its powerful and maybe only ally. Especially if they suspect many Americans might be relieved to have someone else thwart Iran's nuclear designs, since successive American administration haven't been able to.
With the West only wringing its hands at prospect of a nuclear weapon in the mullahs' hands, the Israelis may prefer the world's condemnation to risking their own incineration. Whether a nuclear-tipped missile is launched directly from Iran or via intermediaries like Hezbollah or Hamas would seem of little moment to them. They just want to prevent the possibility of its being launched at all. On the theory that one Holocaust was enough.
The moral of this story: North Korea isn't just a danger in itself but by example. Even before the end of the year arrives, things could get entirely too interesting for comfort in the Middle East.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Send your comments by clicking here.
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