By Alexei Summers (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 29, 2012
In 2002, United States President George Walker Bush used the term “Axis of Evil” in his state of the union address, to refer to the governments of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq, which he believed were terrorist states seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Although Bush was criticized for his comments on these powers, it has been ten years since then, and western public focus remains firmly fixed on these three nations – there is a perceived threat, and the West anticipates violence against it and its neighbours and allies.
In recent weeks, the world has descended into a climate of fear as UN officials have been carrying out inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Talk of pre-emptive strikes against Iran are emphasized by UN reports condemning the Middle Eastern nation for allegedly lying to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, and not answering questions in a satisfactory manner. The nation’s cooperation with the inspections has been heavily criticized.
The Persian nation has been suspected of being developing nuclear weapons of mass destruction for a number of years now, but officially claims to have no intentions of building atomic bombs – but rather, is mining nuclear materials for energy resources, and for research.
“Iran like any society is a multi-tiered society,” said UFV Political Science professor Ron Dart of Iran’s Nuclear program. “There’s always the dilemma in politics – in how you defend yourself. There’s always the rhetoric, and there’s always the possibility. Whether [an Iranian nuclear program] is a reality is another thing entirely.”
Meanwhile, North Korea currently refuses to let IAEA inspectors within its borders anymore. Since 2009, it has not undergone any nuclear inspections, and is considered a rogue state by the UN. Under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, North Korea prided itself on its high military spending budget. It now has the fourth largest army in the world, and a budding nuclear weapons program.
Now that North Korean Communist Party Chairman and Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Il, has passed away, power has been passed to his son, Kim Jung-Un. The North Korean political sphere has been quiet since his passing – many political scientists believe that this could be the calm before the storm, as power is transferred from father to son. Kim Jong-Il was criticized harshly throughout his career as leader of the North Korean people as being hot-headed, and quick to react – something the West does not like to see in a man who has access to nuclear arms.
“I think the hope would be that son does not follow father, in this case. A good leader can do a lot of things if they’re a visionary leader. A poor leader just reinforces the prejudices of the past,” said Dart, on the subject of Kim Jung-Un assuming power. North Korea is expected to have Intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities by later this year – long range nuclear missiles, which will be able to target any city in the world. Currently, the range of North Korean missiles only extends to the west coast of North America.
