HUFF AND PUFF

Let’s face it, when it come to North Korea, the once mighty United States has become a toothless tiger. North Korea tests nuclear weapons. All we can do is huff and puff. North Korea sinks a South Korean warship. All we can do is huff and puff. And now North Korea has bombarded a South Korean island. All we can do is huff and puff. And all we’ve been able to do about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and meddling in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza is to huff and puff.
　
In dealing with the threats posed by North Korea and Iran, the best we’ve been able to do is to protest loudly and call on other nations to impose sanctions against these two rogue nations. Trouble is the North Koreans and Iranians are paying no attention to our protests and the sanctions haven’t worked. We’ve even told the Israelis not to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities for fear of getting dragged into another shooting war.
　
South Korea retaliated with a bombardment of its own and threatened ‘Enormous Retaliation’ for any further North Korean attacks. Enormous retaliation? That would drag the whole Korean peninsula into a bloody war with thousands and thousands of civilian casualties. And what about the 30,000 American troops stationed near the demilitarized zone? They would probably be wiped out. That’s why the Obama administration is urging both sides to show restraint.
　
The Obama administration really can’t do much more. It would be the same if John McCain had been elected president or, for that matter, if Ronald Reagan were president right now. We have become a toothless tiger, barely able to contain the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan after nine years of trying to defeat a bunch of ragtag fighters who use improvised weapons against our modern military might.
　
We will go to the United Nations and ask for a resolution condemning North Korea as we have with Iran. The U.N. will pass a resolution that will be ignored by the North Koreans. Let’s face the fact that we are bankrolling an international organization which when confronted with a powerful foe is no more effective than was the League of Nations prior to WWII.
　
Dispatching a U.S. naval task force led by the aircraft carrier George Washington to the area for a joint training exercise with the South Korean navy is just more huff and puff that is not going to frighten the North Koreans because they know we are not going to launch our planes to attack them.
　
We are really in no position to become engaged in another major shooting war. And our military capabilities are not likely to get any better because all the leading economists agree that drastic cuts in defense spending will be required to reduce the national debt and to reign in deficit spending.

Without resorting to the use of our nuclear weapons, all we can do is huff and puff. How sad that the once mighty United States has become a toothless tiger.