Will President Obama's U.N. address have any effect on Iran's and North Korea's pursuit of nucler weapons?

No

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by Phil Hill

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Pariah states such as North Korea and Iran hate the United States and all it stands for. Where we see freedom and democracy, they see bullying and inequality. Where we see peace, they see oppression. So, to receive a warning, lecture, call it what you will, from President Obama will merely serve to harden their resolve.

The message they will take from his speech is that they were right all along - the great evil power of Washington is determined to control the world and put down any state attempting to gain a semblance of power for itself. After all, if the US and a few other nations have nuclear weapons, what gives them the right to stop other nations following suit?

Of course, there are good reasons why we should halt the progress of nuclear arms. We should stop new nations obtaining them and at the same time cut back the stocks of those countries that do already have them. That will serve to make the world a safer place.

If rogue nations such as Iran and North Korea suddenly arm themselves to the teeth with these dangerous weapons, what future would there be for our planet? That is why the United Nations has banned countries from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran and North Korea, however, appear hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons. But why? They see it as putting up two fingers to America and her allies. They believe it will help them 'defeat' enemies propped up by the West - Israel in the case of Iran and South Korea in the case of North Korea.

Obama's threatening words - backed up by allies, including, as usual, Britain - are a last ditch attempt to persuade the rebel regimes to back down. There appears little hope those words wil be heeded. If sanctions and other actions fail, then the only option will be military might.

If America and her allies go in with armed force, that action will convince the dictators they are right. Such proud evil men do not back down. They play cat and mouse games similar to those played by Iraq's Saddam Hussain. And it all ends in tears for everyone.

Colonel Gaddafi's Libya is one of the few pariah states to change tack and 'come in from the cold', even though his hatred of the West is still pretty apparent. But opposing America and its might makes a hero of an anti-Western society. Threatening words from Obama will simply result in more isolationism from Iran and North Korea.

Iraq showed it was prepared to go to the brink and further. That committed America to years of action there and is sapping millions of dollars a day from its hard-up money banks. Iran and North Korea are always aware that America is up to its eyeballs in military commitments. It is likely to be bogged down in Afghanistan for years to come and has recently pledged thousands more troops there. Iraq is not going to go away in the near future. And the opposition such projects cause back home are well documented.

So Iran and North Korea may well feel now is a safe time to build the bomb. If it can proceed with its secret nuclear program, what are the chances America will be unwilling or unable to take action? Obama gave the impression before his election that he had had enough of warmongering, that he wanted to promote peace. Well, such a fine thought may well be scuppered by Iran and North Korea.

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