Links of Interest

Too many interesting things in the news today to discuss in too little time–

North Korea

• More Alarming News on the Food Situation, via the World Food Program:

500 grams is actually an increase from this year’s low of 250–the equivalent of two medium- sized potatoes.

• But what they lack in food, they make up for in chutzpah, although on the other hand, you can’t eat chutzpah.
• The Kremlinologists are buying up shares in Kim Jong Il’s might-be-gay son, about whom you can read more here.
• The U.N. Goes to Pyongyang, and the results are mildly surprising, though hardly a reason for unbridled enthusiasm: “North Korea hosted United Nations legal experts to a seminar in Pyongyang last week on refugee issues, the leader of the UN delegation told Yonhap’s Washington correspondent by phone from New York on Tuesday.”The North Koreans were generally sympathetic and showed no adverse reaction,” said Palitha Kohona, chief of the UN treaty section’s office of legal affairs. “They were very enthusiastic.”
• North Korean Christians, Crushed with Steamrollers. Plato’s Stepchild leaves a mark on The Guardian. If you call yourself a human rights activist and you’re not talking about North Korea, you’ve left your moral authority unzipped and we’re all embarrassed for you.
• APEC Post-Mortem: Did I miss these welcome words from G.W. Bush (ht: China-e-Lobby)?

And what of North Korea? The Korean war “has never really come to an end,” Bush astutely declared. (That’s Pyongyang’s view, so it should also be ours.) He pledged a “comprehensive diplomatic effort” to give the Six-Party talks some teeth. He also underscored the humanitarian dimension of the Korean crisis. “Satellite maps of North Korea show prison camps the size of whole cities, and a country that at night is clothed almost in complete darkness,” Bush said. “We will not forget the people of North Korea.”

I can’t exactly recommend his diplomatic efforts, but the words on human rights are
certainly welcome. I guess I picked the right plaque.

South Korea

• The Seoul High Court has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to stop delaying the passport application of Kim Dok-Hong, who defected with North Korean “Goldstein” Hwang Jang-Yop. Hong is reputed to know where many bodies are buried (literally, one suspects) regarding the North’s drug production, counterfeiting, and other illegal activities. It’s not a story the governments of either Korea want told to the U.S. Congress.
• More Dissent on Human Rights in the North: “A government-funded North Korea research institute voiced some rare criticism yesterday of the administration’s stance on human rights in the North.The Korea Institute of National Unification, an organ under the prime minister’s office, also urged that Seoul join international efforts to press the reclusive nation to end its abuses of its citizens.” Sell your shares in Chung Dong-Young.
• Not all inter-Korean ties are improving with equal speed. The predictable laggard: military ties. Too bad; those are the ties that may have the most potential to avert fatal miscalculations.
• The Long Arm of Kim Jong Il reached North Korean defector Lee Han-Young in Switzerland, where its agents fatally shot him. Now Lee’s widow has won a $93,000 judgment against the South Korean government for the latter’s negligent failure to protect her husband. “The court said that government officials providing security for Mr. Lee had disclosed information on his whereabouts to South Korean private detectives wittingly or unwittingly working for a North Korean assassination team.” How does someone unwittingly work for a North Korean assassination team? Just wondering. . . .
• The Head of Korea’s Radical-Left, America-Hating Teacher’s Union is resigning. The replacement is widely expected to be even worse.
• Falun Gong Blacklisting is to be expected in China. But in South Korea (via China-e-Lobby)?

Iraq

• The fallout and backpedalling continue over South Korea’s ill-timed announcement of troop withdrawals.
• Returning soldiers are continuing to note a vast discrepancy between their own experiences and what they see on TV.
• Seen This Poll Yet? The WaPo says “the survey itself cannot be dismissed as a partisan attack. The RTs in RT Strategies are Thomas Riehle, a Democrat, and Lance Tarrance, a veteran GOP pollster.” Results:

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic Senators hurts troop morale — with 44 percent saying morale is hurt “a lot,” according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale. . . . Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to “gain a partisan political advantage.”

On that last item, I have a bit more to say. Personally, I see four kinds of Iraq criticism, and vast distinctions between them.

1. The first is Michael Moore School, which is patently opposed to any U.S. military action and roots for those who kill our soldiers and Marines. This is anti-American and unpatriotic. Now comes the mandatory disclaimer where I assert that of course it should be legal, as I also assert that this view should also be shunned the way neo-Nazis are shunned. I also think it’s still a numerically small but vocal part of those who are discontented.
2. The second is the John Edwards-Al Gore School. It’s the wimpy sentiment that agreed with the idea of going in, but can’t stomach the casualties and bad intel, post-facto. These people are just wimps; none can offer a cogent defense of that view, but it’s probably fairly widespread among softer heads and empty suits. It usually begins with the words, “Knowing what I know now . . . .” The subtext is this: “What? You never told us that people die in wars. You mean they have terrorists over there?” It was your job to know then, Senator Emptysuit, just like it’s your job now to weigh our next set of options intelligently.
3. The third is the John Murtha School. It’s opportunistic and partisan, and I suspect that it’s a close cousin of “the second.” It is the kind that supported the Iraq Liberation Act and Clinton’s own hawkish statements, and that made the statements about WMD’s that Republicans are running on TV. It’s the kind that had no resolve to go on when a Republican President faced an increasingly unpopular war. These are people who have forgotten who we’re fighting (insert your own gruesome beheading picture). Then again, Don Sensing, whose son is a Marine in Iraq now, thinks John Murtha is a lot smarter and s good measure more devious than some give him credit for. Interesting theory, which I’ll keep in mind as events unfold.
4. The fourth is the Lieberman-McCain-Clinton School. It mixes those who opposed the war from the start and those who supported it, but who agree that it was badly managed in many ways. There are too many criticisms and too many things I could say about each criticism. This school wants us to correct past errors and win the war. Generally, however, these critics understand that (1) we’re there now; (2) we’re fighting al-Qaeda there now; (3) we can’t afford to give al-Qaeda other enclave; and (4) it’s neither possible to surrender to al-Qaeda nor to make peace with al-Qaeda. You can only kill the die-hards and give the fence-sitters a reason to opt for the finer things in life. This is what even determined war supporters should recognize as patriotic dissent.