[FOUNTAIN]A New Cold War Begins?

Bernard Baruch, an American political figure, used the term, "cold war" for the first time. In 1947, Mr. Baruch was the U.S. representative to the UN Atomic Energy Commission and used the term in a speech referring to the Truman Doctrine. "Let us not be deceived - today we are in the midst of a cold war," said Mr. Baruch, then a presidential advisor to President Harry Truman. An American journalist, Walter Lippman, later quoted this term in the title of his column, and it became widely used to refer to the structure of international confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union after the end of the World War II.

Despite a number of limited wars and crises like the Korean War and the Cuban missile confrontation, the overall icy peace of the cold war was maintained for 45 years because of the fearful balance of nuclear weapons. The core of the belief was "MAD" － the mutual assured destruction strategy which held that any nuclear war between the United States and USSR would surely reduce both of the countries to ashes. Based on such a belief, The anti-ballistic missile treaty was signed in 1972. The treaty has as its basis that an anti-missile defense may tempt a country to start a war if it feels invulnerable.

The world is stirring now that the United States decided to expel 51 Russian diplomats while Russia is considering a tit-for-tat. It is a scene from the cold war era. Despite the ABM treaty, the Bush administration is determined to establish a national missile defense system, and tension is rising between the United States, Russia and China. Russia strongly opposed such a system, hinting that it may bolt from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. China also sent a firm warning to the United States on the possible aftermath of not only the national missile defense system but also possible sales of advanced warships to Taiwan. Has a new cold war begun?

The Bush administration emphasized North Korea as a major reason for developing the NMD system. But five U.S. representatives from the Democratic Party held a press conference a few days ago to criticize the Bush administration for using North Korea as an excuse to establish an NMD system. They urged the administration to return to the Clinton engagement policy. In order to complete the NMD system, astronomical sums - $60 billion - will be required. The U.S. press says the United States is exerting more pressure on its allies to buy weapons since the Bush administration took office. All of the recent incidents will benefit industry, which is the source of political funding to support the Republican Party. We now wonder about the Bush administration's real intentions in pushing its "diplomacy of power."

by Bae Myung-bok