Coverage of the Rabbi Cooper’s Press Conference

On one hand, you could call it a smattering. On the other hand, it’s a marked improvement from what we’ve seen before. The Washington Times put it on the front page. Nothing in the NY Times or the WaPo. There was scattered coverage in nations like New Zealand. The Chosun printed it prominently, but in fairly reserved tones, and with the expected accent on the leftist South Korean government’s knowledge and soft cover-up of the reports. The Korea Herald didn’t get the word, or preferred to cover the anniversary of South Korea’s Human Rights Commission, which is far more interested in saving Ba’athists and head-loppers than its 22 million fellow Korean citizens in the North.

Now, I’m personally cautious about some of the specific reports about chemical testing, but what Rabbi Cooper and the Wiesenthal Center are actually calling for is an international tribunal to investigate these allegations. Such a tribunal would be the first in my recollection to actually try to prevent an ongoing crime against humanity, should focus on the far bigger picture of political cleansing through mass starvation–possibly of millions–and the evidence that it was far from an act of nature alone. And of course, we cannot forget why we can’t verify any of the specific allegations–because North Korea acts like it has something to hide.

My point here is that the allegations are serious enough to deserve more coverage, international attention, and a better investigation of the facts. We’re not going to get that when the “international community”–embodied by a feckless and corrupt U.N., and represented by a biased international media–is too distracted with its obsessive contempt for America, which all too often translates to apology or outright affection for its sordid enemies.