Deadly Insouciance

The Axis of Evil that Iran, North Korea and Syria represent - (excluding for the sake of recognizing the more immediate threats, though Pakistan represents the initial crucible of information-sharing on nuclear technology) that has much in common with one another and their front in sparring with the United Nations' IAEA, the Security Council, the United States and the West - feels itself to be invincible.

They know from experience that there is much bluster with the condemnations that erupt each time they initiate yet another step to defying world security in their inexorable move toward nuclear threats aimed at spreading terror and cowing their enemies. They know how effective it is to dole out little dollops of hope from time to time, to gain time to continue furthering their expansion ambitions. They know how unwilling their detractors are to committing to physical means.

They encourage one another, and give robust aid and assistance surreptitiously, under cover of appearing to temporarily accede to the demands of the world body to honour its promises to cease and desist in their conquering quest. And the laxness of their pledges and the fearsome ambitions that they represent, bring chilling fear to those with the imagination to foresee an impulsive threat delivered and humanity suffering.

Not merely at their own hands through the deployment of powerful, far-reaching missiles which they continually perfect, with the covert and deniable assistance of those whose advanced technology aids them, when those agencies purportedly work within the Security Council itself, but at the not-altogether unlikely prospect of their sharing those deadly technologies with their non-state terror proxies.

North Korea has proceeded with the preliminaries of its planned launch of a powerful missile, ostensibly to launch a satellite, despite its promise to respect the UN Security Council resolution that it refrain from "any launch using ballistic missile technology". In the process, it is spending millions that could feed its starving people. The emergency food aid that the United States had offered to provide to North Korea in exchange for its honouring that resolution has been cancelled.

Official North Korea has responded to the American president's condemnation of its activities as "confrontational, duplicitous and insulting". This could very well be a Monty Python skit writ large; wryly amusing if it were not completely, delusionally, bitterly threatening of world peace. It is well enough accepted that North Korea is developing intercontinental ballistic missile technology to be fitted with nuclear warheads.

Japan, in self-protection, has ordered interceptor missile units in preparation for the latest celebratory (anniversary event honouring their revered founder) North Korean missile launch. Both Japan and South Korea have issued due warning of their intention to shoot down any parts of the rocket that violates their air or land space. Threats that North Korea characterizes as "war-mongering".

Syria is being condemned by the UN, the Arab League, the United States, the European Union, for continuing to attack and slaughter that significant majority portion of its population that continues to demand regime change, despite its agreement with the peace treaty that Kofi Annan presented Bashar al-Assad with. And the G5+1 is set to re-start negotiations with Iran yet again over its nuclear program, in April.

The unifying tactics all employ is promise, delay, divert and ignore. A highly successful formula to date.