North Korea has the ability to deliver a nuclear warhead into downtown Los Angeles. And Sunday’s illegal long-range rocket launch may have brought the regime steps closer to achieving that.
President Barack Obama, however, has yet to present a tangible strategy to mitigate and ideally thwart this potential catastrophe.
Former U.S. diplomat and foreign policy analyst Richard Grenell penned a piece Sunday after the “Hermit Kingdom” once again defied international warnings and launched a long-range, multi-stage rocket, which Grenell notes “was clearly a test of a ballistic missile.” It is public knowledge that a ballistic missile is the delivery vehicle for a nuclear warhead.
Grenell wrote that “[t]he same technology used by DPRK to launch a satellite into orbit could deliver a nuclear warhead into downtown Los Angeles.” Also on Sunday, the Associated Press pointed out that the UN and other nations called this launch “a cover for a banned test of technology that could strike the U.S. mainland.”
The 15-member UN Security Council held an emergency meeting in response to the launch. However, the U.S. and UN Ambassador Samantha Power failed to produce an actual resolution that outlines a plan for action.
This is the second time North Korea has defied international law recently, having allegedly conducted a hydrogen bomb test in January. It appears that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un, 33, is learning quickly from the Islamic Republic of Iran and taking advantage of President Obama’s weak foreign policy strategy and lack of a tangible approach altogether.
Grenell notes that Sunday’s incident was yet another display of the Obama Administration being “once again caught without a plan. They post hashtags on Twitter and issue press releases talking of their strong condemnation.” He also tore into Amb. Power for echoing the same weakness as the commander in chief:
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power has proven to be weak and ineffective. She shockingly called on the UN today to “take action” and implement “serious consequences,” but she failed to put down an actual resolution outlining the actions that should be taken. Power said, “We’re looking forward to expeditiously consulting with our colleagues in the coming days.”
“In the coming days”? This is far from a plan and it is not an acceptable approach from the United States of America. North Korea can reach California and our representative at the UN is woefully unprepared. Power should have had a resolution on the table last month – days after DPRK’s hydrogen bomb test. But she didn’t do anything then and today she again failed to take action. Diplomacy requires serious diplomats who are willing to work urgently. Congress should demand the White House send a tougher negotiator to the UN to help Power immediately.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz.
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