Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, warns that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons may lead to conflict in the Korean peninsula. Sherman also warns that North Korea represents a threat due to its history of greed which may lead it to sell weapons to whomever will pay for them. (0:36)
Former Vice resident Dick Cheney talks about the Guantanamo Bay prisoners and how 14% of those who have been released after trial have gotten back to the “jihad business”. Cheney adds that some of the men who are still currently held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are some of the most dangerous men for the U.S as they would do anything to kill Americans. (1:03)
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service.
Analysts for the Brookings Institution gathered to assess the North Korean threat on America and its allies in reaction to N.Korea’s recent underground nuclear bomb detonation and the launch of two short-range missiles.
The think tank was pressed into discussing the matter following North-Korea’s acceleration in its military activity.
Pyongyang had already caught the international community’s attention in October 2007 by unsuccessfully testing a nuclear weapon.
However the threat posed by the North Asian state has reached new heights after N.Korea announced that it had conducted underground nuclear tests on Monday, followed by two short-range missiles (a ground-to-ship missile and a ground-to-air missile) launched from an east-coast base on Tuesday.
Michael O’Hanlon, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution warned that although “Their options are limited,” threats must be taken seriously, they must be mitigated.
Richard Bush, a Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, confirmed that “They have a problem though, and that is that deterrence is not yet credible; their missiles don’t fly far enough and accurately enough, the weapons design is not yet perfect and so they need to test, that’s the only way they can demonstrate to others that they have the capability to inflict harm on the United States and on Japan.”
If the production of the missiles is one leap closer to achieving significant nuclear capabilities, O’Hanlon explained that “The real issue is the size of the weapon and how deliverable it would be by the North Koreans, if they were to choose to deliver it some day.”
Additionally, “[The missile] has to survive the stresses of missile flight, which are no trivial,” said O’Hanlon.
However, according to the analysts, this does not mean that a threat is nonexistent but rather that the U.S should not be concerned by missiles coming from North Korea directly.
O’Hanlon said “I would say the most worrisome question is the sale of nuclear material because if they attack South Korea, their regime will end.”
O’Hanlon concluded that “The only thing they can plausibly get way with is the sale.”
Richard Bush, a Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, discusses the North Korean point of view on the U.S being a threat and how Pyong Yang tries to deal with this threat. (0:28)
By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on “Southern Border Violence: Homeland Security Threats, Vulnerabilities and Responsibilities,” Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano agreed with a question posed by Committee Chairman, Senator Joseph Liberman (D-Conn.) on threats to U.S. homeland security. Senator Liberman asked whether, as Secretary of Homeland and Security, she considered Mexican drug cartel violence a real threat to the homeland security of the United States.
The Talk Radio News Service speaks with attendees of the Georgetown Public Policy Reception. January 16, 2009.
