Cato Daily Dispatch for November 1, 2004
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North Korean Nuclear Issue Faces Election WinnerOil Prices Might Start Impacting Consumers
Pakistan's Parliament Allows Musharraf to Remain Army Chief
North Korean Nuclear Issue Faces Election Winner
"Sooner rather than later, the winner of tomorrow's presidential election will have to face up to a grave emergency involving North Korea's nuclear weapons. Neither President Bush nor Sen. Kerry has been eager to roll out a detailed plan to deal with the North Korean situation amid a heated race where every proposal or action becomes fodder for political attack," according to an editorial in the Miami Herald.
"The candidates agreed during a debate that nuclear proliferation remains the No. 1 threat to world peace. Every passing day adds urgency to the need for a resolution to the North Korean problem because dictator Kim Jong-Il has taken advantage of the delay to add to his nuclear arsenal."
The best strategy for the United States in response to North Korea is to reduce the U.S. military presence in South Korea and Japan and give those countries the green light to begin developing nuclear weapons, according to Cato vice president for defense and foreign policy studies Ted Galen Carpenter in "Options for Dealing with North Korea." "Since North Korea is already one of the most economically isolated countries in the world," he writes, "sanctions are unlikely to dissuade Pyongyang from pursuing a nuclear weapons program."
Oil Prices Might Start Impacting Consumers
"For weeks now, economists have watched the steep rise in oil prices and concluded that a combination of improved energy efficiency and market competition have buffered the U.S. economy against the inflation and other economic problems triggered by earlier oil shocks," the Washington Post reports. "During the latest oil spike, the fear of losing customers has led businesses to trim profits, squeeze other costs, or postpone investment and hiring instead of increasing prices to consumers.
"From major manufacturers to local bus companies, evidence is building that the slack in the system is being used up and soon consumers will feel the effects of $50-a-barrel oil."
In "What's the Answer for High Gasoline Prices? Nothing," Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies at the Cato Institute, and Peter Van Doren, editor of Cato's Regulation magazine, write: "Gasoline prices seem relatively high today largely because we still have rather fresh memories of 1998 -- the year in which records were set for the lowest inflation-adjusted fuel prices in American history. However, once we adjust for the changing value of the U.S. dollar, gasoline prices are not particularly high at all if compared to the historic record."
Pakistan's Parliament Allows Musharraf to Remain Army Chief
"Pakistan's upper house of parliament passed a bill on Monday to allow President Pervez Musharraf to stay on as army chief despite his pledge to give up the post by the end of the year," Reuters reports.
"The bill, passed on Oct. 15 by the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, now needs only to be signed by Musharraf to become law."
In "Pakistan in America's War against Terrorism: Strategic Ally or Unreliable Client?" Leon T. Hadar, research fellow in foreign policy studies, writes: "Since September 11, General Musharraf, whose regime had been the main source of diplomatic and military support for the terrorist Taliban ruling neighboring Afghanistan, has portrayed his regime as an ally of Washington in its counterterrorism campaign. Musharraf, though, headed a military clique that brought an end to his nation's short democratic experience, assisted radical Islamic terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Kashmir, pressed for a war with India, advanced Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, and presided over a corrupt and mismanaged economy."
Jonathan Block, editor, jblock@cato.org
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