Spoiled children and countries
RAINER'S RAMBLINGS
By RAINER ARNOLD Union Sentinel Publisher

Recently the North Koreans got the whole world in an uproar with their testing of missiles. Some short, medium and long range. Some of them capable of hitting the US did not do well, but the others did.

The entire world is upset. But, dialogue is warranted and everyone wants sanctions against North Korea. Well, there are already as many sanctions as possible. The UN will not do any more. The member countries could, but won't. Then analysts started saying that the North Koreans are doing this to get foreign aid from other countries throughout the world.

Then the Iranians broke off their talks about their nuclear ambitions to wait and see what the world is going to give the North Koreans. Then they will have talks again and likely tell the world that since they are bigger and stronger than North Korea plus they have a lot of oil, they want more than what North Korea is getting. If that is the case, and likely

it is, these two countries and the world in general, are like that of children of a divorced couple, playing one against the other in order to get what they want. And, both parents wanting to outdo the other will gladly submit to the child and give in order to have the love of the child.

Well, I don't think the world wants the love of the North Koreans or the Iranians, but I do think we want them to be with us instead of against us. Thus, the game goes on.

Now, my thinking is that if the Iranians watch what we do for the North Koreans and then follow suit, maybe we ought to spank them and send a message to the Iranians to not try to extort us. I am not saying lets blow up their facilities because that might entail a war in the Far East, but let us send them to their room like bad children. It is obvious that the North Koreans do not produce enough food and the government does not have any money. So, let us simply cut off the food supply

and the people of the country will rise up. History has taught us that hungry people will not work. Also, let us stop the foreign aid and thus cut off their money supply. After all, I do not know of anything that North Korea has that the rest of the world is standing in line to get.

So, lets put pressure on these people. Then I read that China sells them millions of pounds of rice a year. So, China, a neighbor, ought to support the rest of the world and cut the food supply. After all, how would you feel if your neighbor interfered with the disciplining of your children.

Thus, the issue could be resolved if everyone would do their part. However, North Korea and Iran is counting on the fact that not everyone will do their part and thus they continue with their spoiled children tactics.

Maybe someone ought to write a book about how similar diplomacy is to trying to raise spoiled children in a divorced home.