By Douglas V. Gibbs
The Democrats are the radical anti-nuke crowd of the 1960s, all grown up - well, kind of. I half expect them to break out into a reenactment of the make-love-not-war film, "Hair." Obama would run down the path through the park singing that the planets are aligned for ushering in the Age of Obamia, and Pelosi and Reid and the rest of the Congressional Democrats would be streaming behind him, dancing and picking flowers to place in their hair as they proceed.
The leftists have this unreal belief that if they all just join hands, sing folk songs, and explain nicely to the bad guys that there is no good answer affiliated with war, the tyrants of the world will pound their weapons into plowshares and join the rainbow of peace.
Sounds sweet, doesn't it?
President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit is a two day summit with 47 nations that focuses on eliminating the nuclear scourge, and keeping those terrible weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
Seems noble, doesn't it? Except they have about as much of an ability to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists as does gun control kooks to keep weapons out of the hands of the criminal element by taking guns away from law-abiding citizens.
"But if there is no nuclear weapons, then the bad guys can't have any. . . "
Right, and Ahmadinejad just needs a few songs of peace downloaded to his I-Pod so that he can change his 'tude.
The technology exists. Disarming only makes the free world vulnerable. The crazies of the world will always find a way to arm themselves with nuclear technology, and weakening ourselves only gives them more assurance that they can use their weapons without consequence.
Ukraine has already declared they are in on the love-fest, vowing to remove their entire uranium stockpile. Two nations, however, wants nothing to do with this disarmament party in Washington. That's right, Iran and North Korea were not invited. In fact, there is a worry that as the rest of the world disarms, Iran and North Korea (and possibly Russia) will not follow suit.
Israel's Netanyahu was not present, either, but mainly because President Obama has been snubbing Israel, as well as trying to dictate to the small nation in the Middle East whether or not they can build more living units in their own capital, Jerusalem.
What is happening is a bit of Deja Vu, but not from the 1960s or 1970s, as one would believe, but from much farther back in history.
The Treaty of Versailles included a clause on disarming. World War I had been such a terrible war, that all measures to eliminate the possibility of another such war became the desire of the world leaders. The allied powers believed that the surest way to stop any future conflict of such a terrible, worldwide nature (as was World War I) was to limit arms. Surely, if nobody had any weapons, nobody could fight, right?
The Disarmament Conference, set up by the League of Nations in 1925, also called for the number of naval vessels for Britain, Japan, and the United States to be limited.
As the nations of Europe, the United States, and others disarmed, in 1932 Hitler declared that Germany would only disarm if the others disarmed further. His ultimatum was met with refusal, but by then the disarmament process had proceeded to such a point that nations like France or Britain, who would have been able to defend themselves otherwise, would be unable to fight back if German decided to act aggressively.
By 1934, Hitler's defiance of the treaty's provision to disarm led to Nazi fifth-column riots in Austria, the assassination of Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss, and international protest that led to Mussolini sending Italian troops to the Austrian border.
The clashes resulting from Germany's and Italy's refusal to disarm were referred to the League of Nations to be peacefully worked out. The League of Nations imposed economic sanctions, influenced by Britain's strong policy of appeasement, but as Germany and Italy rearmed, the other European nations could do nothing.
Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister of Britain in 1937 and believed that Germany had been badly treated by the Allies after it was defeated in the First World War. Chamberlain believed that if only Hitler was offered a reasonable peace offering, he would not be a threat to his neighbors. Chamberlain desired to address what he thought to be genuine grievances, while also being willing to agree to some of the demands being made by Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy, so that a new war in Europe could be avoided.
Hitler continuously demanded concessions for his Nazi Party, including concessions for the Austrian Nazi Party. Such concessions were refused in Austria. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the leader of the Austrian Nazi Party, later replaced the resigned leader of Austria, and proceeded to invite the German Army to occupy Austria and proclaimed union with Germany.
The union of Germany and Austria was specifically forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, and the move made Neville Chamberlain determine that he needed to take action against Adolf Hitler and his Nazi government.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain of Britain, Edouard Daladier of France, and Benito Mussolini signed the Munich Agreement, transferring to Germany the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, a fortified frontier region that contained a large German-speaking population. Czechoslovakia's head of state had not been invited to Munich and protested the decision.
The Munich Agreement was the ultimate act of appeasement, and it appeared to have prevented a war with Germany on the surface. In March, 1939, however, the German Army seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. The action broke the Munich Agreement, and Neville Chamberlain realized that Hitler could not be trusted and that his appeasement policy was a failure.
Had the allies not disarmed after World War I, France alone would have been able to stop Germany's advance. Hitler's goal was to advance his agenda using tactics the allies did not dream Germany would resort to. Peace, though a noble cause, was not able to stop Hitler's insanity without the element of strength behind it. Only the strength of superior weaponry, which could be used as a deterring factor as well, could have stopped World War II before it began, or at least made the defeat of Germany swift should Hitler still have decided to continue with his aggression.
North Korea's and Iran's goal is nuclear weapons, with the desire to strike against their enemies with nuclear weapons should they feel the desire to do so. The inevitability that Ahmadinejad's goal is nuclear weapons is fast making Israel realize that they must strike against Iran before Ahmadinejad reaches his nuclear ambitions, despite Obama's appeal for appeasement and a nuclear-free world. Like Chamberlain, Obama believes that apeasement is the key, and is even willing to give the gift of land (as did Chamberlain) to quell the enemy (hence the reason he is snubbing Israel and is pushing for a two-state solution).
Disarming the free world, as Obama desires, is only a recipe for leaving ourselves weak, while the aggressors of the world, like Iran and North Korea, pursue arming themselves with nightmarish weapons that they are willing to use, should they think we are too weak to respond, or too deep in our desire for peace that we are unwilling to protect ourselves.
The Dove of Peace only flies when those that oppose tyranny are strong enough to defeat them.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Obama hosts leaders at nuclear summit - CNN
Ukraine to give up nuke material; boost for summit - Washington Post
Ukraine Pledges to Eliminate Highly Enriched Uranium Stockpile , White House Says - Fox News
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