The World Is Still Round

For all those who think that the murder of Kim Seon-Il will bring Korea and America closer together, I dissent. A wave of hatred against muslims and a desire to seek collective vengeance don’t add up to shared values and interests. If anything, this will only deepen Korean resentment of the U.S., particularly given the universe of difference in our views on North Korea. In fact, I still suspect the Uri will continue to stall the Iraq deployment until the war is over.

If I have learned one thing from my time in Korea, it’s that everything is ultimately America’s fault. Surely we must understand that this naive young Bush-hating anti-American was really in Iraq to support Bush’s war for oil. If only Bush had not provoked those freedom fighters with those underwear atrocities at Abu Ghraib, they might all be attending the Youido Assembly of God by now.

Among the things the U.S. really doesn’t need are (1) Korean troops hiding out in the Kurdish wilderness; (2) Korean troops giving Fallujah the Srebrenica treatment; and (3) Korea trading this deployment for some terrible Faustian deal at the expense of the North Korean people. What we need are allies who genuinely want to return the service the world did for them, and who are in this for the long haul, not today’s rage. Dream on.