China and Russia Not Pulling Their Weight

The recent development of China getting firm with North Korea and the subsequent change in rhetoric of Kim Jong Il shows something I have claimed for some time: China and Russia have been given a pass on their world responsibilities too long. While the world body takes great sport in blaming the United States for virtually all of man's problems, when it comes to the reality of the shortcomings of China and Russia they turn a blind eye. The actions of China and Russia may be malicious and they may be benign. China may be enjoying the fruits of dabbling in capitalism, but they have not relinquished the iron fist of communism. While the Soviet Union fell apart, Russia has not strayed far from their communist roots. Coincidentally or not, their choice of allies and friendships is always at odds with American interests. To give the benefit of the doubt, I suppose the great wealth and military might of the US makes it dificult for these two countries to keep their eye on the ball of who is real world threat.

For over a year now I have been saying that the resolution of the problems in North Korea and Iran needs to come from the world body who have thus far sat on the side lines in the war on terror. While it is doubtful the toothless United Nations can manage to gum these problems away, some Security Council members have great influence over these two countries; mainly Russia and China. This week China has taken the first steps in proving my theory is on the right track. While most have been pushing Bush toward the "Cowboy" unilaterism that they criticized him for; Bush has resisted the Clinton method of dealing with North Korea that only seems to work until the next administration comes along.

As a result of China's firm stance with North Korea, Kim Jong Il has now publicly expressed regret and claims he will not test a second nuke. While the details of what this means are still hazy - by no means does this mean the problem is gone, it does show the influence China has on North Korea if they choose to exercise it. While Iran would be more difficult for China to deal with - since Iran supplies China with oil, China and Russia have much more influence with Iran than they have used. If Russia and China get their eye back on the ball and realize that the greatest threat to the world is not the USA, but radical Islam jihadists, a united front from Security Council members may be able to keep it at bay until inevitable reform takes place.