Posted by Jim Lindgren:
Test for Obama: US Tracking Probable North Korean Weapons Ship.
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_06_21-2009_06_27.shtml#1245815495
The Obama Administration responded to the North Korean provocations
testing the resolve of our new president by supporting and imposing UN
embargoes on weapons shipments.
The US Navy is now [1]tailing a North Korean ship suspected of
transferring military weapons to Myanmar, which is also subject to
embargoes:
MSNBC:
South Korea's YTN news network reported that a U.S. Navy destroyer
was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missiles and
related parts toward Myanmar in what could be the first test of new
U.N. sanctions against the North over its recent nuclear test.
The sanctions toughen an earlier arms embargo against North Korea
and authorize ship searches in an attempt to thwart its nuclear and
ballistic missile programs. . . .
"This administration � and our military is fully prepared for any
contingencies," Obama said Friday during an interview with CBS
News' Harry Smith, to be broadcast Monday on "The Early Show."
"I don't want to speculate on hypotheticals," Obama said. "But I
want ... to give assurances to the American people that the t's are
crossed and the i's are dotted in terms of what might happen."
The North's cargo ship, Kang Nam, is expected to travel to Myanmar
via Singapore, YTN said, citing an unidentified intelligence source
in the South. Myanmar's military government, which faces an arms
embargo from the United States and the European Union, has
reportedly bought weapons from the North.
The ship is reportedly the first North Korean vessel to be tracked
under the new U.N. sanctions.
Two U.S. officials said Thursday that the U.S. military had begun
tracking the ship, which left a North Korean port Wednesday and was
traveling off the coast of China.
One of the officials said it was uncertain what the Kang Nam was
carrying, but that it had been involved in weapons proliferation
before. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
intelligence.
The embargoes would seem to require that the US inspect the ship
before it reaches its destination. The Israeli website Debka.com
speculates that Obama will and must do this to maintain credibility
with the world. I'm not so sure.
[2]Debka:
The UN Security Council resolution of Friday, June 12 mandated
sanctions, approved at Washington's behest, that authorize UN
member nations' naval vessels to stop and search North Korean ships
suspected of carrying nuclear materials.
Pyongyang said this measure would be deemed an act of war on the
Korean peninsula and draw a "thousand fold" military retaliation.
However, at stake for the United States is a far larger issue,
DEBKA-Net-Weekly's Washington sources report: It relates to
America's standing as the leading nuclear superpower and guardian
of the global nuclear order. In this sense, the Korean crisis
confronts Barack Obama with a supreme test as US president with
major ramifications for the Iranian program.
This goes to the motivation behind Kim Jong-Il's nuke-rattling, his
decisions not only to unveil the appointment of his 26-year old son
Kim Jong-Un as his successor, but most of all to take the lead in
creating a bloc of nations willing to shake the United States on
this pedestal.
Obama's non-confrontational stance on the Iran crisis obliges him
to apply muscle to the Security Council's sanctions against
Pyongyang - or lay himself open to criticism for being soft on both
nuclear rogue states. This would disarm in advance any penalties
the UN might impose on Iran for its nuclear violations.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31473986/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
2. http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6148
Hidden links:
3. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/volokh/posts/1245815495.html
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