Opinion: Geez Mr. Bush, You're Right - Let's Trust North Korea Now

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How did a nation make such a drastic turn that the United States is backing off on its choice to sanction them?

According to a yahoo report Bush believes that easing up on sanctions to the regime will help in the denuclearization process.

This is a nation that has long lied about its nuclear weapons programs.

According to a report at the International Institute for Strategic Studies:

"They have certainly produced enough plutonium since that time to make a number of more weapons," said a U.S. defense official familiar with the intelligence on North Korea.

A report that was written by The Washington Post quoted David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security:

"These advanced nuclear weapon designs may have long ago been sold off to some of the most treacherous regimes in the world."

It's a well known fact that North Korea has supplied Libya in the past with weapons. There are 30,000 documents that link the nation to a smuggling ring run by Pakistan's "father" of their atomic weapons project, Abdul Qadeer Khan.

"These would have been ideal for two of Khan's other major customers, Iran and North Korea," Mr Albright wrote. "They both faced struggles in building a nuclear warhead small enough to fit atop their ballistic missiles and these designs were for a warhead that would fit."

And now Bush believes them? What happened? What does North Korea have in their pocket that is making George Bush willing to jump through their hoops?

"We will trust you only to the extent you fulfill your promises," Bush said in the Rose Garden. "I'm pleased with the progress. I'm under no illusions. This is the first step. This isn't the end of the process. It is the beginning of the process."

Or is it an act of giving someone just enough rope to hang themselves? Knowing that the North Korean have produced enough plutonium to make a half-dozen bombs is the easing of sanctions a ploy?

On October 9, 2006 North Korea conducted their first nuclear test. That test resulted in an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale.

Are we to believe that they honestly plan to stop production at all their locations like their Yongbyon facility? Last year they said they had but have failed to provide complete accounting of all of their nuclear activity. They didn't shut it down until the United States had put $25 million into an account at a Macau bank.

Of course they plan on blowing up the 65-foot-tall cooling tower on television. That will make a nice day of reporting when they do.

It's good enough for Bush it appears. He plans to erase trade sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act for that little show. He will also notify Congress that in 45 days North Korea is off the list of nations that sponsor terrorism.

Isn't that special?

Okay let's face it, the chances are slim that North Korea could nuke the world. That said they could still use those long-range missiles if so inclined. Those suckers have a range of several thousand kilometres.

But golly gee whiz Bush trusts them now I guess so should the rest of us.