Iran, North Korea and Clinton - Gore
In dealing with North Korea, see previous post, the U.S. under President Clinton and the diplomatic expertise (cough!) of former President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. failed. We now face a real crisis.
And then there is Iran.
As with North Korea, DPRK, the Clinton administratin plays a large role in where we are today. With Clinton's authority, Vice President Gore negotiated with Victor Chernomyrdin, in what was known as the 'GCC', or Gore Chernomyrdin Commision, and the result was that Russia was to sign no further agreements with Iran. President Yeltsin, whom President Clinton had stated had agreed to scuttle the Bushehr light-water reactor deal, never did so. It, along with the centrifuge technology now at the center of the current issues between Iran and the U.S., could have been stopped in 1995. The plant’s construction is now complete, the centrifuges are being used in the process of creating enriched uranium.
Essentially, Clinton and Gore, assured the Russians that the U.S. would look the other way on their existing arms sales to Iran, and as well, we would permit certain defense and satelite corporations to do business with Russian firms, permit the Russians to participate in the Wassenaar Arrangement, and finally, we would only require that Russia not continue arms trade with Iran, i.e. no new deals. For the remaining years of the Clinton administration, the focus became preventing missile technology transfer to Iran.
And just as with North Korea, where Clinton also focused on missile technology development and transfer, Iran has advanced missile technologies now capable of reaching their perceived enemies, and are moving toward ICBM and nuclear warhead additions. (The U.S., nor any other nation has confirmed DPRK or Iranian delivery capabilities for nuclear weapons - ed.).
In essence, both North Korea, and Iran are crises that the Clinton administration turned a blind eye to, and as a result, both are much more capable of terrorizing their neighbors and holding the world to the point of a nuclear gun.
How could we possibly consider any Democratic nominee for the White House, Senate or House as serious on defense and national security issues in the wake of their support for Clinton? Perhaps some will step forward, but as of yet, the only stepping forward that’s been done is by the Bush administration. The President and Secretary Rice are trying to clean up the mess of the Clinton Gore debacle.
