This Nukes for You

Here's a language issue with a nice destruction-of-civilisation twist. North Korea has threatened a second nuclear weapon test and has called UN sanctions imposed against it a "declaration of war." First of all, the UN is intended to represent all of the countries of the world and therefore cannot declare war on anybody, its a bit like declaring war on your left middle toe. It also accused the US of using the UN as a tool to enforce its hegemony. Well, it is true that the American government only goes through the UN when the Security Council is in a giving mood, but really if the US wants to enforce its hegemony, it needs only to remind Pyongyang of one simple fact. North Korea has, what, 20 devices at most and no way of delivering them to US territory (excepting Alaska), and it may yet be years before the technology is developed for the weapons to become a genuine threat to the continental US. The US, meanwhile, is in possesion of about 10 000 nuclear weapons, about 8 000 are attached to a land-based missile, submarine or bomber capable of delivering it anywhere in the world. Not that the US would use its big stick, North Korea, I think, is viewed by the US as a backward little nuisance that wants to play with the big boys. The only tangible threat outside of South Asia that anyone has been able to come up with is American security analysts who have suggested that North Korea may give a weapon to terrorists. Ah, terrorists, the great excuse for the culture of fear that has allowed the US government to do some spectacurlarly bad foriegn policy (Afganistan, Iraq, etc) and keep its own population in a nice, obeidient roll-over-when-we-tell-you-to state. If anything, North Korea should thank the US for the idea, maybe it will make up for that whole axis of evil thing.