Who's Next in Line?

Just skimming through the news out there today is quite a boon for doomsayers. It looks like we could potentially have several more conflicts on our hands before too long, and we haven't even finished with the first two yet ("Mission Accomplished" banners aside).

The most real of the new war prospects out there for the Bush Administration is of course, as it was before IraqII, Axis of Evil star North Korea. This country may actually have a leader who is a madman too, judging by many of the things I've read about Kim Jong II. North Korea also ALREADY has nuclear weapons and is perhaps stepping up their production and testing of late.

Now it appears that North and South Korea are another step closer to conflict, and the U.S. is potentially in the middle.

From Reuters:

North and South Korea have been divided since the Korean War ended in 1953 and Choe said "the danger of war is snowballing owing to the U.S. extreme moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and threats of preemptive strikes against it."

In a speech to the United Nations, Choe Su Hon, head of the North Korean delegation, also held out the possibility that the six-party talks could be resumed if Washington agreed to reward Pyongyang for freezing its nuclear activities and questions are answered about South Korea's atomic experiments.

The latest in a series of six-way talks had been planned for this month, but North Korea said last month talks with the United States were pointless.

...

If oil is your game then Nigeria is a potential new theatre for the Bush admins. continuing war pageant "Freedom on the March".

Nigerian rebels fighting for sovereignty of the oil-producing Niger delta told oil companies in the world's seventh largest exporter to shut production before they begin an "all-out war" on Oct. 1.

The violence has so far had a minimal effect on oil supply, but companies fear a repeat of last year's Ijaw rebellion which forced them briefly to shut 40 percent of production. Shell has already evacuated more than 200 staff from the fighting.

And for those of you keeping track at home more bad news for Bush from the same article:

In New York, crude oil futures jumped 36 cents in electronic trading to the $50 a barrel level, the highest in the 21 years oil futures have traded on the exchange.

...

File this one under a potential conflict to "protect our friends".

Israel threatens Axis of Evil runners up, Syria:

Israel accused Syria on Monday of "directing terrorism" and warned it could face pre-emptive strikes against militants on its territory, but stopped short of saying it killed a Hamas leader in Damascus.

Taking aim at Syria, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said the Jewish state's northern neighbor was "a central junction in regional terrorism" and President Bashar al-Assad "works there as the traffic officer."

"Syria is responsible for directing this terrorism against us and therefore it cannot be immune to our operations aimed at preventing terror," Boim said on Israel Radio.

...

File this under "Inflamatory Bullshit Designed to Exterminate Future Generations of Americans".
From the BBC in 2002:

In a speech entitled "Beyond the Axis of Evil", US Under Secretary of State, John Bolton said that the three nations could be grouped with other so-called "rogue states" - Iraq, Iran and North Korea - in actively attempting to develop weapons of mass destruction.

He also warned that the US would take action.

"States that sponsor terror and pursue WMD (weapons of mass destruction) must stop. States that renounce terror and abandon WMD can become part of our effort, but those that do not can expect to become our targets," he said.