BY Ken Lovett
December 21, 2014
Former Gov. George Pataki: U.S. should declare 'cyber war' on North Korea
Richard Drew/ASSOCIATED PRESS Ex-New York Gov. George Patak
Former Gov. George Pataki on Sunday said the United States should declare a "cyber war" on North Korea in the wake of the Sony hacking scandal.
"This is just outrageous," said Pataki during an appearance on John Catsimatidis' 970-AM radio show. "When a small totalitarian country like North Korea can make major United States corporations pull back a movies and limit freedom of speech, there's something terribly wrong."
He noted that the Obama administration said it believes North Korea is responsible for the cyber attack and should respond forcefully.
"At the very least, we should declare cyber war on North Korea," he said.
"I don't know to what extent their society or economy is dependent on the ability to communicate electronically, but we certainly have to have the capacity and we should do everything we can now to make the North Koreans pay for this act against the United States' freedom of speech and certainly engaging in using our cyber technology to disrupt their ability to communicate--to disrupt the ability of the Kim regime to continue to oppress its people."
Pataki said the issue is more than just about the millions of dollars Sony is losing by canceling the distribution of the "The Interview"--the Seth Rogen movie that sparked the incident.
"When North Korea on its own can force the American people not to see a movie they were prepared to go to by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, then we need to send a strong signal that we're going to react. I think looking at what their cyber activities are in using our capabilities in making sure this government pays a price in North Korea is certainly appropriate."
Pataki also suggested that North Korea may have had some help with its cyber hacking activities from countries like Russia., mentioning Russia.
The Republican Pataki told Catsimatidis he is "strongly leaning" toward running for president in 2016.
He spent much of the 13-minute interview talking about foreign policy issues dealing with national security, Russia and Cuba.
He called President Obama's decision to open restore full diplomatic ties with Cuba "very troubling."
"I think it's wrong on so many different levels," Pataki said.
He called it "a terrible precedent" for the U.S. to trade three Cuban convicted spies for the release of an American hostage.
Obama, Pataki said, send the message to America's enemies: "Take an American citizen hostage and we will free your prisoners in exchange. I think it's a horrible precedent."
He also chastised Obama for normalizing relations with a "totalitarian, brutal police state."
"This President too often has not stood with our allies , like Israel, and too often has shown weakness or accommodation to our enemies, like now, Cuba."
"It's another example this president's of this president's foreign policies weakening America, dispiriting our allies...and sending a very accommodating signal to those who detest the freedom that we love here in the United States."
Should he choose to run for president--something he has considered but not done every four years since leaving office at the end of 2006, Pataki said his experience running a "complex, very blue state" sets him apart from many other potential Republican candidates.
But many Republicans and political observers say his time out of office, lack of name recognition, more moderate social views, and questionable ability to raise the necessary funds make him a non-contender contender.
But Pataki said he believes if he chooses to enter the race, his record and message of reducing government dependency and tackling a federal government that he says has grown too big and intrusive would make him a credible candidate.
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