Can someone explain something to me?

Why is it okay for the US, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Great Britain, France, Israel and even South Africa to have nuclear weapons, but it's condemned when anyone else has them?

I can understand why it's okay for us to have nukes, because of course, we'd never use them. Oh wait, let's back up for a minute on that one.

It's okay for Russia to have nukes, cause they're our friends and would never use their power to invade other countries. Oh wait, we need to back up on that one too.

Okay, well, it's okay for Pakistan to have them because they're quite a stable country with little conflict and no threat of takeover by someone like the Taliban. Oh. Hmm. I guess that doesn't quite hold up either.

Look, I understand that if I lived in South Korea or Japan, I'd probably be nervous if I knew the North Koreans had the technology to lob nukes at us. But I'm left wondering -- when was the last time the North Koreans engaged in imperialistic acts? When was the last time they attacked a neighbor?

Well, some people would point to the Korean war. I'd encourage those people to read a little bit more history before pointing too many fingers. Start with the First Sino-Japanese war, which ended in 1895.

The truth is simple: North Korea has reasons to be nervous. The country has a history of being stuck in the middle of wars fought between other countries. They couldn't possibly invade another country (with the exception of South Korea) with any chance of success. Russia and China would both pound them into dust, and the US would protect Japan. On the flip side, history suggests the Koreans should expect further conflict on their home territory.

The 8 years under the Bush administration did little to ease their fears. Bush proved to the entire world that the US will happily invade other countries if we don't like the ruling administration, and we don't need much of an excuse to do it. And Bush was certainly threatening the same in Iran and NK. He stood up and shouted quite loudly, "Be afraid of us!"

Can we blame them for being afraid? I don't think so.

I don't particularly like that NK has nukes. But how many of the countries currently condemning them are stepping up to the plate and saying, "We'll protect you from Imperialistic goals of your enemies" ? No one is guaranteeing NK's sovereignty into eternity.

History has taught the North Koreans one very simple lesson: if you're weak, you'll be trampled. No one wants to be trampled.