Words Are Empty When Weapons Are Loaded

by Gordon Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, June 19, 2009

I remember a teacher in elementary school who used to deal with unruly students by putting their name on the chalkboard and adding little check marks for each violation. It was assumed that the public humiliation of being pointed out and designated as a troublemaker would initiate fear and trembling among the most brazen offenders. Sadly, this notoriety only served to embolden the bully of the class by giving him the attention – even if it was negative – that he longed for.
The same principle is now being played out in our global classroom. And I am afraid history has shown that missing recess doesn’t bother those who don’t really want to play the playground games.

In the case of North Korea, as was the case in Iraq before George Bush assembled a coalition of forces and finally dealt with the bully there, the United Nations has been putting check marks on the chalkboard and denying recess for several decades. Perhaps it is time to try a new approach.

I don’t have the expertise nor do I have the time to analyze the whole bully syndrome, but I do know that many times it is the attempt to compensate for deficiencies in other areas. This “Napoleon Complex” is borne out in many ways, and most of them involve the actor becoming more and more dangerous as he sees powerful and charismatic leaders garnering attention he feels should be his alone. In other words, a deranged man with a shrinking self image is a dangerous man. And if that deranged man acquires nuclear capability, he is even more dangerous.

As we look back at the history of the UN’s dealing with North Korea, we can see failure after failure. Sanctions have done little to change the behavior of the leadership, but have served to add more names to the list of those who have starved to death. The example of capitalism and global inclusion that has enabled South Korea to flourish has not served to convince the leaders to abandon their Communistic system.

When Bush lumped Iran, Iraq and North Korea into the Axis of Evil, many criticized him, claiming that such designation would be too divisive and inflammatory. Eventually, enough pressure was applied and North Korea made concessionary moves to convince Bush to remove its name from the terrorist list. Now, our new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has threatened to put the name back on the list. Forgive me if I do not express great confidence in its efficacy at changing Kim Jung Il’s posture.
What then should be the response of Obama?

Well, let’s look at what has worked with bullies in the past.

While Obama repeatedly draws attention to the economic malaise he has inherited, he should also notice and mention some of the other things he inherited from previous administrations. First of all, thanks to the policies of Reagan, Obama does not have the shadow of a vital U.S.S.R. stretching its tentacles around the globe. Secondly, thanks to Bush-the-first, he does not have an Iraq-occupied Kuwait. Thirdly, thanks to Bush-the-second he does not have Saddam Hussein to deal with; he has also inherited a weakened Al Qaeda network led by a cave-bound, emasculated Osama Bin Laden. I will grant that Bush was not always right on many issues, but when the world witnessed the image of Saddam crawling out of a rat hole under the command of our brave soldiers, it became clear that his tactic of dealing with that particular bully was obviously the correct ploy. We must also remember that Libya abandoned their destructive ambitions when they saw the resolve of our coalition forces to root out evil.

Obama’s offhand, affirmative response during the campaign, when asked if he would negotiate with leaders such as Kim Jung Il and Ahmadinejad, was duly criticized by his Secretary of State for being naïve and immature. It is my hope that she has convinced him to grow up since then.

While it may be unpopular with Obama’s core constituency, I believe he has to at least leave the option of force on the table. The best scene for us to see on our TV’s and in our newspapers would be the image of Kim Jung Il under the custody of an international coalition of forces. The worst scene would be the rising mushroom cloud of a nuclear detonation over Seoul or a major US city.

Ronald Reagan faced down a much more powerful adversary with a steadfast challenge to “tear down this wall”; Bush-the-first drew a line in the sand; Bush-the-second made a decision to hold a madman accountable to his conditions of surrender. My hope is that Obama will learn some valuable lessons from these true leaders who have shouldered heavy burdens and made difficult decisions.