Note from Norm: Hard Truths Require Hard Words
Less than a week ago President Donald Trump went to the United Nations and, spoke truth to power.
As John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, remarked “It’s safe to say, in the entire history of the United Nations, there has never been a more straightforward criticism of the unacceptable behavior of other member states.”
If one were to read the President’s speech, unfiltered by the talking heads and the media analysts who prefer to focus on style rather than substance, it is clear that the President made it abundantly clear that America will never step back from its place in the world.
Nor will America stand back while rogue nations and their tyrant leaders threaten the peace, security and stability of the free world.
Those leaders may be able to hide in the safety and security of their bunkers but Donald Trump would not let them be anonymous at the United Nations.
“The scourge of our planet today is a small group of rogue regimes that violate every principle on which the United Nations is based. They respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign rights of their countries. If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. When decent people and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power and strength.”
The tensions between the United States and North Korea is palpable. There is no question that we are in a place and time in history that has no precedent when it comes to dealing with a nation that has nuclear weapons and has made it clear they intend to use them.
Which further underscores why the United States and the rest of the free world can never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
A nuclear Iran, committed to the destruction of Israel and one of the greatest exporters of terror in the world, would destabilize not just the Middle East, but the world.
To read the President’s entire speech it is posted at the following link:
We live in a dangerous world where polite worlds may comfort the media and be applauded by diplomats.
But, polite words don’t change the fact that evil exists in the world and that there are evil leaders who are committed to the destruction of America and our allies.
To be sure, like all Americans, I hope and pray that diplomacy and reason will bring North Korea and its leaders to heel. That their belligerent and dangerous goals and objectives will be confronted by any nation that chooses peace over war.
Which was at the core of the Presidents words at the United Nation.
From North Korea to Iran to Venezuela the President was blunt: Free nations must stand together or they will surely burn together.
In the days ahead we will learn what the President intends to do with the Iranian nuclear agreement negotiated by his predecessor.
An agreement which has funded Iran’ s support of global terror to the tune of a $100 billion- ignored their development of ballistic missile systems and legitimized their obtaining nuclear weapons in less than decade.
Shortly after launching another ballistic missile test the President declared:
“Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel,…They are also working with North Korea. Not much of an agreement we have!”
Imagine the horror if North Korea and Iran were to join forces to share and develop their capacity to build and launch nuclear weapons?
As CIA Chief Mike Pompeo recently said, “The North Koreans have a long history of being proliferators and sharing their knowledge, their technology, their capacities around the world…As North Korea continues to improve its ability to do longer-range missiles and to put nuclear weapons on those missiles, it is very unlikely if they get that capability that they wouldn’t share it with lots of folks.”
Beyond the words of this President he made it clear that his actions are intended to check the ambitions of Iran and North Korea. That his policies will free our nation’s military leaders, and our soldiers in the field, to execute their missions without the restraints placed on them by the Obama Administration.
Soothing words at the United Nations may have gotten the President higher marks from his critics and perhaps even some pats on the back from the nation’s diplomatic corps.
But, pretty words have failed to underscore to the world that Iran and North Korea and a handful of other rogue nations pose an existential threat to the world.
Hard truths require hard words.
The President spoke them.
It’s about time somebody did.
