10-14-06, 10:16 am
Dear friends,
If North Korea did test a nuclear explosive device, it is a setback to the global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear arms. It could destabilize northeast Asia, the wider Asian continent, and have negative repercussions around the world. As a supporter of the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide, starting here at home, United for Peace and Justice views this development with alarm.
But the primary blame for this situation lies with the Bush administration, not North Korea. The nuclear test is a direct reaction to the Bush administration’s policy of shunning negotiations and threatening North Korea with war and regime change.
In 1994 North Korea signed an agreement with the U.S. to suspend its nuclear weapons program and allow international inspections and monitoring of its nuclear facilities. In return, the U.S. agreed to not make military threats against North Korea, to supply fuel oil to replace the lost nuclear power, and to help build two modern atomic power plants.
But beginning in 2002, the Bush administration slowly gutted its part of the agreement. It branded North Korea as part of an “axis of evil,” threatened war, ended the shipments of fuel oil and the construction of nuclear power plants, tightened a long-standing economic embargo, and obstinately refused direct bilateral talks. The White House even threatened the limited use of nuclear weapons in a regional conflict with North Korea. All of this in a context that goes back more than 50 years. The U.S. has refused to sign a peace treaty that world formally end the Korean War and still maintains some 30,000 troops in South Korea.
As the Bush administration geared up to launch war on Iraq -- another country named as part of Bush's 'axis of evil' -- North Korean officials had reason to worry that the U.S. might attack their country, too. Predictably, the North Korean government responded by withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, expelling atomic energy agency inspectors, and beginning to develop nuclear weapons.
For eight years (1994-2002) direct negotiations with the North Korean government reduced the threat of nuclear proliferation and war on the Korean peninsula. So why are Bush administration officials telling us it’s impossible to negotiate with North Korea?
They, and their neoconservative allies, are calling for sanctions, isolation, and even military threats to impose 'regime behavior change.' But this is the same recipe that brought us the disastrous Iraq war, and will only deepen North Korea’s resolve to develop nuclear weapons, potentially setting off a new nuclear arms race in the region.
There is only one way to address the current crisis: Direct negotiations with North Korea. The Bush administration must negotiate an agreement providing assurance it will not launch military attacks against North Korea, offering material aid, and taking steps towards normalizing relations in return for a commitment from North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. As even former Secretary of State James Baker said earlier this week, “It’s not appeasement to talk to your enemies.”
With few exceptions, much of the mainstream media is going along with the White House’s claims that negotiations won’t work. The media played a major role in the run-up to the war in Iraq -- we can’t let them do that again.
WHAT YOU CAN DO Now is the time to get the word into your local media that negotiation, not war, is the answer. Click here to send a letter to the editor of one or more of your local media outlets today.
* You may use some of the statements below in your letter, however, it's always best to put things into your own words.
* Keep your letter brief; most publications don’t print long letters.
* To increase the likelihood of your letter being published, open your letter with a reference to an article previously published in the newspaper you are writing to. Many news outlets will only publish letters that include such a reference.
Suggested Talking Points for Letter to Editor
* North Korea's nuclear test makes clear a very harsh reality: The Bush administration's foreign policy strategy has failed. It has made us less safe. North Korea has repeatedly sought direct negotiations to resolve these conflicts, yet the Bush administration refuses. And now North Korea, a nation known for selling weapons technology on the open market, has joined the nuclear club. Perhaps it has learned the one lesson to be gained from the Bush Administration's policy of preemptive war -- that the only way to protect against being invaded is to possess weapons of mass destruction.
* As long as the Bush administration maintains policies of preemptive, first-strike war, pursues development of new nuclear weapons, and refuses to re-submit the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty for Senate approval and to abide by its own obligation under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to disarm, tensions will continue to escalate.
* In 1994 North Korea signed an agreement with the U.S. to suspend its nuclearweapons program. For eight years direct negotiations with the North Korean government reduced the threat of nuclear proliferation and war on the Korean peninsula, until the Bush administration began withdrawing from its commitments stipulated by the agreement. So whyare Bush administration officials telling us it´s impossible to negotiate with North Korea?
* The Bush administration and its neoconservative allies are calling for sanctions, isolation, and even military threats to impose 'regime behavior change.' But this is the same recipe that brought us the disastrous Iraq war, and will only deepen North Korea's resolve to develop nuclear weapons.
* The endless spiral of death in Iraq -- a war launched on the pursuit of nonexistent'Weapons of Mass Destruction' -- has dangerously destabilized the Middle East. Meanwhile, we continue to sell arms to Pakistan and India, and to ignore the existence of Israel's nuclear arsenal. The U.S. is the biggest nuclear weapons holder and dealer in the world. The first steps toward a safer world must be taken here in the U.S. –- it is time for nuclear disarmament to begin.
* Nuclear tests, arms sales, sanctions and threats of preemptive war cannot resolve the political stalemate with North Korea, only returning to direct negotiations will.
* The Bush administration should accept new bilateral negotiations with North Korea for a non-aggression pact between our two countries.
See the letter written by Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action, published in the New York Times, as an example of an effective letter to the editor. More resources on the conflict with North Korea are available on our websit.
The Bush administration’s subversion of diplomacy has resulted in a dangerous turn of events. The time to end the madness is now: No Sanctions, No Military Action, No War!
From United for Peace and Justice
