Comments on: The North Korea Syndrome

By: BROOKS FOREIGN POLICY REVIEW

BROOKS FOREIGN POLICY REVIEW — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:17:30 +0000

Calling North Korea’s Bluff Will Force China to Crackdown…

by Collin Spears – Visiting Fellow, Center for New Politics and Policy
If the United States and its allies want to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, and not just temporarily allay tensions, they must call Kim Jong-Il’s bluff by escalating the …

By: keelaay

keelaay — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:43:05 +0000

I was just following your analogy Sillhouette, which I thought was a good one. But reading your response, the analogy no longer holds because the bull will still get killed if he does not attack his taunters. Anyway, the analogy is not important. But I would respectfully argue that a nuclear armed North Korea is very important, and very dangerous. Bull or no bull.

By: The Obama Administration Struggles With North Korea. Time to Find a Big Stick? | THE WEEKLY POINT

Sat, 30 May 2009 22:26:19 +0000

[...] The North Korea Syndrome | The Moderate Voice JERRY REMMERS [...]

By: Silhouette

Silhouette — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:39:51 +0000

Is there some mandate that we must "go after" people who would do just fine without our meddling? Face it, the only real and true reason we engage in wars is A. in the case of Hitler being an indisputable megalonmaniac hellbent on genocide and taking over the world or [most often] B. to take away sovereign nations' control over their own lucrative natural resources so that we can profit and not they.

The simple solution is to curb rampant monopolizing capitalism and instead impliment sane policies that allow us a more diverse GNP with which we can trade for the goodies we want on the world market instead of commiting armed robbery on a global scale [and we wonder why we have enemies.]

I always try to do this. I always try to get people to imagine a reverse scenario. Imagine if say, some natural resource that only existed in the US suddenly became sought after worldwide? And imagine then if China up and decided it wanted to control it and not allow us to. So then they demonized our leader, accused him of [fill in the blank appalling information geared to spur world support], and proceeded to invade our country, sieze the resource and install a puppet government intende at once to lull the natives back into complacency while factually maintaining real control from abroad?

Yes, I don't think we'd like that very much and yet we expect people of other nations to allow us to do it on a daily basis.

We as a nation need to recapitulate, we need to look at ourselves and be ashamed. We need to make adjustments in how we deal with the world at large. The world isn't the US's [cloister of very rich men's] oyster.

And as for N Korean and other nations like it, their antics are doing the exact opposite of what they intended. They intend, I'm sure, to take advantage of what they mistaken as "Obama's weakness", or rather the US's collective weakness thanks to Cheneyco bankrupting us via his hostile corporate takeover in Iraq, with our guns and money. Instead what they're going to do is prove Cheney "right" and get another round of the GOP in next time to enact another round of world exacerbations. They should also take advantage of "change we can believe in" and instead work towards real solutions to never let the GOP [their real enemies] sieze power again...to make them look like the fools they are in concert with the Obama adminstration. They need to understand American politics and the four-year cycle. Help us stamp out the foxes in the chicken coop....if they were smart... Even if they succeeded sacking the US, our populace would be worse than Afghanistan to try to control. Better that they help us be a strong and pleasant, negotiable world partner instead. It would be a win-win for everyone..

By: Axis of Evil Spinning Out of Control « Cynical Synapse

Axis of Evil Spinning Out of Control « Cynical Synapse — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:57:10 +0000

[...] including claims North Korea’s test was inconclusive. There’s been no shortage of North Korean rhetoric and calls for tougher sanctions. At least it seems China and Russia are in agreement this time. It [...]

By: keelaay

keelaay — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:39:30 +0000

Great bull analogy Silhouette. Of course, all the bull need do is pursue one matador at a time. He can empale, bloody, and trample any of them individually. But the bull is a relatively dumb animal and the matadors know each can taunt it away from the other. If the US were smarter than the bull, who do you suggest we go after first?

By: Silhouette

Silhouette — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:16:16 +0000

Let's see. If I wanted to bring down the US, I'd engage it in as many foreign campaigns as possible while its budget strains beyond the breaking point. I'd convince it that China would be willing to bankroll it [China...! really?]. Meanwhile China would be in on the deal to bring the US to its knees as it foolishly engages with bravado in stupid foreign engagement after stupid foreign engagement..

In bull fighting with several matadors, they gaff the bull repeatedly as one matador after another distracts it with a red cape flaring and taunting it to charge. Then wham! Another gaff goes in its neck. The final kill is a rather mundane affair as the bull falls to its knees, weakened by so much blood loss and charging that it no longer can put up a fight. Then there is a big BBQ where the different matadors divide up the carcass and party down.

I think all of our generals and strategists should be required to attend at least a dozen bullfights in order to let it sink in.

Sometimes I think we are dumber than dirt..

By: pacatrue

pacatrue — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:15:29 +0000

Good review. One strong possibility, as others have mentioned, is that these current actions are motivated entirely for internal political reasons. Kim is certainly not above trying to get a few of his own vessels blown up so that he can show videos of the evil South Koreans and Americans attacking them. Only the Dear Leader and his appointed heir, the third son I think, can save the nation now!