Bush in Dilemma over Handling Weapons of Mass Destruction

A criticism has been piling up on the Bush administration that it has used a double standard in enforcing its policies against the weapons of mass destruction. The criticism is being raised not only from Europe, but also from within the Untied States.

Recent incidents have turned the moderates and the hard-liners together against the Bush administration. In the past few days, a North Korean ship carrying Scud missiles was intercepted in the Indian Ocean, and North Korean regime announced it would reactivate its nuclear facilities.

Recent incidents of interception of North Korean freighter has proved that the Bush administration`s policy against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which has been characterized with preemtiveness and deterrence, is an impracticable approach, reported The Washington Post on Thursday.

In an interview with The Washington Post, a weapons expert at Kennedy International Peace Foundation said, "The United States does not make an issue of Yemen`s retaining Scud missile due to its cooperation in the anti-terrorist war. But it says no to Iraq. With this type of a double standard, the United States could not win the support of the international community.` He pointed out, "This problem has occurred since the Bush administration has shifted the focus of its policies from elimination of weapons of mass destruction to elimination of certain regimes."

In addition, an arms expert at the State Department asked, "If the United States held a North Korean ship carrying missiles to Iran, it would probably react differently. Then, how could the U.S. explain it?"

A French daily commented, regarding the interception and release of the North Korean freighter, "The United States botched up the case."

In response to this criticism, Bush administration officials refuted, "There is no single equation for dealing with diverse and different threats. This time, the missiles were proved to be an exchange between two nations. Thus, we had no authority to withhold the ship. But, if it had been bounded for a terrorist group or a country under the U.N. sanction, our response would have been different."

Experts, however, pointed out, "If you want to hold a foreign ship in the high seas, you have to provide the legal grounds. At least you should contact the owner of the ship, and should obtain the permission from the owner to search the ship."

Especially, the hard-liners in US also began to criticize the double standard of the Bush administration, reported the AFP. According to press release, some US officials said, "President Bush stressed, `The threats posed by North Korea and Iraq are different in nature. Thus, we have to adopt different approaches.` It proves that Mr. Bush uses the issue of weapons of mass destruction simply as an excuse for ousting Saddam Hussin."

The AFP also added that even the extreme hard-liners within the Bush administration deem a war against North Korea almost unthinkable.

In other words, if the United States wages a war against Iraq, it can beat Iraq in a short time. North Korea, however, has maintained one million active solders that could devastate Seoul in a couple of hours. Therefore, the situation is totally different with North.

The criticism on the Bush administration`s double standard reflects the dilemma the deterrence policies of the administration has faced.

Gee-Hong Lee sechepa@donga.com