An article in a recent edition of the Egyptian Gazette opens with a joke. ?Jokes,? the article explains, ?reflecting different moods and catering for various tastes, are staples in Egypt.? The joke is described as having ?global overtones? and is related as follows: ?It is said that an aide rushed into the Oval Office and told President George W. Bush that North Korea has attacked the US. Without batting an eyelid, Bush ordered that Iraq be hit at once!?
The writer goes on to explain, ?The joke sums up the common sentiment regarding Washington's inconsistent handling of the biggest items on its foreign policy agenda: Iraq and North Korea. The Bush administration is uncompromising on Baghdad. In stark contrast, it goes soft on Pyongyang. Hearing Bush a few days ago saying that he wanted the standoff with North Korea be resolved diplomatically rather than militarily, one could not help but feel increasingly baffled over his foreign policy agenda.? The newspaper notes, ?when two different approaches are employed for one and the same crisis, inconsistency and questionable motives are what spring to one's mind.?
The Egyptian Gazette article goes on to compare the behavior of Iraq with that of North Korea, and America?s reaction to both:
?The US contends that Iraq poses a grave threat to world security. The Bush administration is ready to go to war and add more fuel to Middle Eastern flames even before any evidence is yet available of Baghdad's wrongdoing. US officials have declared Iraq in ?material breach? of a UN Security Council resolution on disarmament - an accusation which may presage military action. Baghdad continues to plead not guilty.
?Meanwhile, North Korea has admitted to reviving plans to enrich uranium, in breach of a nuclear moratorium reached with the US in 1994. Last week, Pyongyang said it had started removing UN surveillance gear at a plant underlying its nuclear program. Days later, it ordered UN nuclear inspectors leave the country. Had any such a step been taken by Iraq, all-American hell would have broken loose on it. Washington noticeably seeks to downplay North Korean defiance. One senior US official was so careful that he declined to refer to this face -off as a crisis. President Bush, in New Year remarks, opted to call the standoff a diplomatic, not military, showdown.?
Hence, the Egyptian pundit explains, ?Iraq's oil is what makes the US tick.? There is no other logical explanation for America?s double standards, according to the Gazette. ?So,? the article says, ?the more North Korea's defiance becomes, the tougher the US will be on Iraq.?
The writer goes on to explain, ?The joke sums up the common sentiment regarding Washington's inconsistent handling of the biggest items on its foreign policy agenda: Iraq and North Korea. The Bush administration is uncompromising on Baghdad. In stark contrast, it goes soft on Pyongyang. Hearing Bush a few days ago saying that he wanted the standoff with North Korea be resolved diplomatically rather than militarily, one could not help but feel increasingly baffled over his foreign policy agenda.? The newspaper notes, ?when two different approaches are employed for one and the same crisis, inconsistency and questionable motives are what spring to one's mind.?
The Egyptian Gazette article goes on to compare the behavior of Iraq with that of North Korea, and America?s reaction to both:
?The US contends that Iraq poses a grave threat to world security. The Bush administration is ready to go to war and add more fuel to Middle Eastern flames even before any evidence is yet available of Baghdad's wrongdoing. US officials have declared Iraq in ?material breach? of a UN Security Council resolution on disarmament - an accusation which may presage military action. Baghdad continues to plead not guilty.
?Meanwhile, North Korea has admitted to reviving plans to enrich uranium, in breach of a nuclear moratorium reached with the US in 1994. Last week, Pyongyang said it had started removing UN surveillance gear at a plant underlying its nuclear program. Days later, it ordered UN nuclear inspectors leave the country. Had any such a step been taken by Iraq, all-American hell would have broken loose on it. Washington noticeably seeks to downplay North Korean defiance. One senior US official was so careful that he declined to refer to this face -off as a crisis. President Bush, in New Year remarks, opted to call the standoff a diplomatic, not military, showdown.?
Hence, the Egyptian pundit explains, ?Iraq's oil is what makes the US tick.? There is no other logical explanation for America?s double standards, according to the Gazette. ?So,? the article says, ?the more North Korea's defiance becomes, the tougher the US will be on Iraq.?