After its defeat in World War I Germany was totally and harshly punished. The German state was decreased in size, and several parts of Germany were given to either already existing states or newly established states.

Back in those days, the most vital part of Germany in economic terms was the Rhineland which went under the control of the League of Nations as a punishment against Germany. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he started an immediate arms build-up, but without the Rhineland under his control, Germany was severely weakened. Taking one of the biggest gambles in his life, Hitler ordered the limited German army to march into the Rhineland, defying all international accords by doing so. The only response which Britain and France could muster at the time was that Germany was merely walking into its own backyard.

This appeasing and defeatist attitude seems to have been adopted again when it comes to North Korea. For years and years now, the United Nations, the six-party talks and China have been trying to get Kim Jong Il to give up his desire for nuclear weaponry. These talks have led us to what happened a few days ago; the world witnessed the birth of a new nuclear power. Kim Jong Il’s gamble, like Hitler before him, has paid off.

Sadly at this point there is little that can be done to control North Korea. One can only hope that it will not use its newly acquired power against the likes of Japan, South Korea or the United States of America.

North Korea would not be convinced when it had no nuclear power; who can seriously argue that it will be convinced now that it is a nuclear power?

One hopes that the United Nations learns from this experience. Trying to convince dictators and despotic leaders on a round table just doesn’t work unless the countries concerned have to face some form of consequences.

North Korea has now joined the club of nuclear powers, but we’re still in time to stop Iran. Let us hope that history will not repeat itself for yet another time!

Angelo Micallef

Marsaxlokk