I believe North Korea's actions can be explained and I understand where they're coming from.
The United States is already heavily invested in the Middle East, with a huge military presence. Many threats of sanctions have been made towards Iran due to their nuclear program, which Iran has repeatedly stated is for peaceful purposes only and has even gone through many diplomatic talks with the UN and with many of the current nuclear nations. I can understand why North Korea, who has made no talks of peace and kept much of their nuclear program secret, would fear the US and feel that they need to keep on their toes with their own nuclear technology.
I'm not saying that North Korea should be left alone and do as they please. North Korea has a communist government lead by Kim Jong-il, and we know what history shows us about communism.
The big issue that this situation raises is the possibility of a Middle East arms race between the smaller nations of Iran, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. An arms race between these countries would obviously be very bad for everyone.
I'm wondering if I'll live through the same kind of daily fear and lingering air of danger my parents lived through with the previous nuclear arms race.
The following are additional responses I made on a forum with regards to this subject:
I only meant the American government and it’s international policy act as bullies towards the rest of the world. We are obviously a world super-power, so we have some rights to act that way, however we shouldn’t be so opposed to other countries technological and financial advancement in world economics.
In other news, a study shows over 650,000 Iraqis have died since the US invasion of Iraq. That’s more than the death toll of BOTH atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including the after effects!. And people think 22,000 American’s dead is a lot? American lives are no more important than Iraqi lives; we’re all human after all: two eyes, legs, arms, feet, and the same color blood.
And all this war and fighting isn’t only for the “good of other countries”. There are more politics, greed, and money involved than anyone will ever know. Hell, plenty of those in the military are there for the money and benefits! Now, I’m not saying the military is bad and what they’re doing is wrong. Members of the military generally take orders, not make important decisions; thats left up to those higher up in the chain of command. There are an endless number of brave and honorable soldiers on the front lines, and otherwise, and I salute them with the highest level of gratitude and respect.
The problem is not the American people as a whole, but rather our individual lack of understanding of the diverse cultures in the rest of the world. So many people think that the rest of the world wants to be exactly like us when the truth is that they’re perfectly happy the way they are.
Word up, to the googleth power.