Learning that the two female journalists were released from North Korean custody is welcome news regardless of who gets the credit. Even though they work for Al Gore, which means two more socialist votes in the next election, it is welcome news. Maybe having experienced how collectivist regimes operate they will have a change of heart about supporting such an agenda and about working for Captain Planet.
Regardless, I have a few thoughts to offer that no one else, at least to my knowledge, has put forth.
North Korea knows these women weren’t spies. Anyone who pays but scant attention to America’s journalistic corps knows full well they aren’t about to spy for our benefit. And they certainly wouldn’t spy against a “worker’s paradise” like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The reason Kim Jong Il’s repressive regime arrested, charged and sentenced these women had noting to do with suspected spying. It was to make America crawl. Okay, we crawled. Maybe we had no choice. No one wanted those women to rot in a North Korean prison for twelve years.
However, their release meant breaking from past practice, one in which America didn’t cave to heavy-handed tactics. What happens the next time an American is taken hostage in some third world hellhole?
Kim Jong Il and his merry band of communist cutthroats recognized an opportunity, much like Iran did a few months ago, to poke America in the eye and dance away scot-free. North Korea now stands tall in the eyes of other small dictatorships that share the DPRK’s disdain for human liberty and the rule of an evenly applied law.
Ironically, one can argue that such notions have become archaic even in the United States. Our government is expanding, our individual liberty waning and our economic freedom deteriorating at fearful rates. But that’s another matter.
Congratulations, North Korea. You identified an opportunity and capitalized on it. But use caution. Your success is eerily similar to the capitalist economic model you so scorn. Also, while you may appear the unbowed bulldog in the eyes of the world’s other Chihuahuas, you are still a Chihuahua yourself. Sorry. That’s just how it is.
As for the two journalists, I’m sure they’re elated. I can’t imagine what they experienced facing twelve years in a communist prison. Regular labor in such a regime is no picnic. What must “hard labor” be like? Even so, if I were they, I would’ve been a little nervous about that flight home.
Bill Clinton negotiated their release. Apparently, if not for the former president they would still be jailed. They owe their freedom to William Jefferson Clinton. They owe him. Women, let that sink in for a minute.
Euna Lee and Laura Ling were locked in a jetliner, 30,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, with Bill Clinton, for twelve hours. And they owed him. Prudence, not to mention chastity, would dictate they make other travel arrangements.
Bill Clinton has, shall we say, a wayward history in his relations with women. This is especially true when he has the upper hand, such as while Governor of Arkansas, or with young interns in the Oval Office, or when someone owes him a favor. Once the landing gear was up and with all that time to kill, Bill Clinton might have decided to call in his IOUs, if you know what I mean. Can’t you just hear him now?
“You know ladies, if it wasn’t for me you’d still be in that musty old North Korean dungeon. I helped ya’ll out of a hard situation. Now old Bill needs help with a hard situation. What d’ ya’ say, ladies?”
Surely a former president would have better manners. But when the subject is Bill Clinton you just never know.
Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
North Korean missile story is always the same
Whenever you read a news story about North Korea’s nuclear program, you must experience what Yogi Berra termed “déjà vu all over again.” It’s the same story every time.
Kim Jong Il waddles to the nearest state controlled microphone to announce the launch of his odd regime’s latest bottle rocket. He declares to the world that his isolated, starving country will take on anyone, anywhere at anytime, especially the West and the United States in particular.
That’s when the newswires break out the standard story that runs each time North Korea goes ballistic--pardon the pun. There’s no reason to waste time writing a new article; the script is the same each time. Just rearrange a paragraph or two and you’re ready for print.
The North Korean dictator blusters and puffs about defending his people against the joint and imminent South Korea-United States invasion. The world counters with its compulsory “strong condemnation,” replete with the typical empty phrases. The media then dusts the cobwebs from the time-old story and reports the “latest” developments from the Pacific Rim.
The story always begins with the world’s acknowledgement that it must “stand up” to the North Korean threats. Next is the recognition that the nuclear test or missile launch poses “a grave threat” to world peace and security. Then everyone will “strongly condemn” the communist regime’s “reckless actions.”
Of course, Pyongyang’s aggressive actions and rhetoric “violates North Korea’s own prior commitments” and invariably becomes “a blatant violation of international law.”
Surely after 15 years of seeing this little red outpost renege on every vow and promise we no longer expect them to honor their commitments. And if anything means less to Kim Jong Il than keeping his own word it is honoring international law.
The “news story” includes the always bland and toothless remarks from the United Nations. North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear blasts inevitably “fly in the face of UN resolutions.” Close behind follows the call for “stronger international pressure.” Finally, the story concludes with the Western world--the world Pyongyang desperately wants to intimidate--issuing a pledge to “stand up to this behavior.”
It has become all too predictable. North Korea threatens and bluffs. “The world” dons a frown and condemns their actions with strong words and a presumed joint purpose. Leaders come together to wag their collective finger in Kim Jong Il’s face and tell him what a bad boy he’s been. In the process we give him exactly what he wants.
Each nuclear test, each missile launch, is a “Hey, look at me! I matter,” moment for Kim Jong Il. And the world jumps each time he pulls its strings.
Am I advocating ignoring North Korea’s nuclear ambitions? Of course not. Every nation, especially the United States, should be prepared to counter the North’s provocations. However, that doesn’t mean that we should legitimize this pathetic little dictator’s hollow screams for relevance.
A new direction is needed. We’ve kowtowed to this communist regime long enough, especially since the implementation of the “Carter doctrine” in 1994. Carter cut a deal with North Korea to abandon its then infant nuclear program. “The world” breathed an unwarranted sigh of relief.
The North, conversely, gained the attention it desired. It received its legitimizing cover and began to systematically violate the Carter agreement from day one. Once this became evident “the world” pronounced condemnation once more and the process started anew. Isn’t it time for a different approach?
Why not monitor North Korea’s nuclear program covertly while ignoring them publicly? It’s certainly possible with modern satellite technology. Perhaps that’s not as accurate as firsthand monitoring, but North Korea has expelled nuclear inspectors anyway. And there’s certainly no interest in confronting the matter directly.
At the very least the media would have to write a new story.
Kim Jong Il waddles to the nearest state controlled microphone to announce the launch of his odd regime’s latest bottle rocket. He declares to the world that his isolated, starving country will take on anyone, anywhere at anytime, especially the West and the United States in particular.
That’s when the newswires break out the standard story that runs each time North Korea goes ballistic--pardon the pun. There’s no reason to waste time writing a new article; the script is the same each time. Just rearrange a paragraph or two and you’re ready for print.
The North Korean dictator blusters and puffs about defending his people against the joint and imminent South Korea-United States invasion. The world counters with its compulsory “strong condemnation,” replete with the typical empty phrases. The media then dusts the cobwebs from the time-old story and reports the “latest” developments from the Pacific Rim.
The story always begins with the world’s acknowledgement that it must “stand up” to the North Korean threats. Next is the recognition that the nuclear test or missile launch poses “a grave threat” to world peace and security. Then everyone will “strongly condemn” the communist regime’s “reckless actions.”
Of course, Pyongyang’s aggressive actions and rhetoric “violates North Korea’s own prior commitments” and invariably becomes “a blatant violation of international law.”
Surely after 15 years of seeing this little red outpost renege on every vow and promise we no longer expect them to honor their commitments. And if anything means less to Kim Jong Il than keeping his own word it is honoring international law.
The “news story” includes the always bland and toothless remarks from the United Nations. North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear blasts inevitably “fly in the face of UN resolutions.” Close behind follows the call for “stronger international pressure.” Finally, the story concludes with the Western world--the world Pyongyang desperately wants to intimidate--issuing a pledge to “stand up to this behavior.”
It has become all too predictable. North Korea threatens and bluffs. “The world” dons a frown and condemns their actions with strong words and a presumed joint purpose. Leaders come together to wag their collective finger in Kim Jong Il’s face and tell him what a bad boy he’s been. In the process we give him exactly what he wants.
Each nuclear test, each missile launch, is a “Hey, look at me! I matter,” moment for Kim Jong Il. And the world jumps each time he pulls its strings.
Am I advocating ignoring North Korea’s nuclear ambitions? Of course not. Every nation, especially the United States, should be prepared to counter the North’s provocations. However, that doesn’t mean that we should legitimize this pathetic little dictator’s hollow screams for relevance.
A new direction is needed. We’ve kowtowed to this communist regime long enough, especially since the implementation of the “Carter doctrine” in 1994. Carter cut a deal with North Korea to abandon its then infant nuclear program. “The world” breathed an unwarranted sigh of relief.
The North, conversely, gained the attention it desired. It received its legitimizing cover and began to systematically violate the Carter agreement from day one. Once this became evident “the world” pronounced condemnation once more and the process started anew. Isn’t it time for a different approach?
Why not monitor North Korea’s nuclear program covertly while ignoring them publicly? It’s certainly possible with modern satellite technology. Perhaps that’s not as accurate as firsthand monitoring, but North Korea has expelled nuclear inspectors anyway. And there’s certainly no interest in confronting the matter directly.
At the very least the media would have to write a new story.
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