The Hindu Business Line : The nuclear fallout

To some people, the exploding of a nuclear device by North Korea is probably the best answer any nation could have given to Washington's recent depredations, the most notable example of which was the full-scale military assault against Iraq on a premise which till now has turned out to be false.

This is not to suggest that Mr Saddam Hussein has been an exemplary leader, so to speak, or that he needs to be emulated in any way by other politicians of the developing world. Neither has he been a martyr to any cause, least of all to the cause of the traditional poor-country underdog who has time and again fallen prey to the rapacity of the rich and the powerful throughout history. In the eyes of the world at large, Mr Saddam Hussein has been a dictator, brooking no opposition to himself or his kin, and trusting no one, perhaps not even his own shadow.

Devastating war

Whether he was popular or hated within his own country when at the pinnacle of his power is of academic interest here, the main point of concern being that the US had no business in unleashing a devastating war on the Iraqi people (solely to get rid of the Iraqi President) for a reason (the Weapons of Mass Destruction issue) which is being described today as a figment of someone's imagination either in the CIA or the Pentagon, or both. Admittedly, Washington not only attained its objective, namely, getting rid of Mr Hussein, it was also successful in apprehending the erstwhile dictator alive, which has today led to the spectacle of the Iraqi President being tried in a "court of law," something akin to the Nuremberg trials which saw the victor sitting in judgement over the vanquished.

One way of looking at the North Korean nuclear-device detonation is to see it as a message to Washington that, despite Iraq, the US does not always have the last word on international affairs. In fact, Pyongyang went ahead with the detonation even after Washington held out all sorts of threats to the north Asian country, including the threat of economic sanctions — which certainly is something the North Koreans can do without.

Beijing in loop?

Since an issue of such wide-ranging global dimensions is involved, one cannot be blamed if one allows one's mind to wander in search of possible connexions between the Korean test and other world capitals, particularly those which are not too happy with the strategic position in which the US finds itself in today. Despite the maverick propensities of Pyongyang under the father-son rule lasting for nearly 60 years, it is just possible that Beijing was kept in the loop, so to speak, right from the beginning of the process which led up to Monday's detonation.

This does not seem to be too far-fetched an idea (even with the new Communists being in charge of the CCP) considering the proposition that, given China's position in the comity of nations today, anything that can be seen to affect adversely the American image can be seen to help Beijing directly or indirectly.

Impact on India-US deal

Who knows, it is also just possible that the Pakistan-China axis did not introduce a spoke into the North Korean nuclear-detonation wheel on the premise that a nuclear test would add to the problems already being faced by the India-US nuclear deal, which is certainly not in the best interests of either Islamabad or Beijing.

The die has now been cast, and it will be interesting to see how nations which have detonated hundreds of nuclear devices since the end of the Second World War till the mid-1990s band together to punish the newest poor-country entrant to their club.

Ranabir Ray Choudhury

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