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Monthly Archive: October, 2006

October 11, 2006

MUST READ: Deterring the Arsenal of Terror

Writing in the Washington Post, David Ignatius squarely confronts what may be the greatest challenge to the security of the United States:  finding a way to deter a mass attack.  Ignatius concludes, correctly, that one must deter the sponsors and suppliers: Allison believes that the world must focus on what he calls “the principle of nuclear accountability.” The biggest danger posed by North Korea isn’t that it would launch a nuclear missile but that this desperately poor country would sell...

Categories Terrorism (NK)/U.S. Military/WMD
October 11, 2006

If Only They Had Listened to Us: Fact-Checking the Dems on North Korea

Update:   I was just wondering when we would hear from America’s worst ex-president.  Scroll down. “I concur with most [of] the president’s policy on North Korea.” — Howard Dean, January 5, 2003 (ht).   “Under the President’s watch, North Korea has become more dangerous and Iran continues to threaten its neighbors and America. Democrats remain committed to a foreign policy that is both tough and smart. — Howard Dean, October 9, 2006. If you’re looking for a defense of...

Categories Uncategorized/WMD
October 11, 2006

Marcus Noland on Containing North Korea

Wouldn’t it be great if we actually could?  Noland comes within a whisker of answering the question he begs: History suggests that abandonment of nuclear weapons or an advanced nuclear weapons program is usually preceded by political regime change: In three of the four cases where states gave up nuclear weapons (Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan), newly installed governments seeking to assert democratic credentials and gain international acceptance voluntarily surrendered weapons left over from the Soviet Union…. The prospect of subjecting...

Categories Geopolitics/WMD
October 11, 2006

TV Ad Satirizes Albright and Kim Jong Il

I’d seen it on TV this morning and tried to post something about  it, but it took Richardson to actually find the ad  (link to video), which the Republicans decided not to use for fear of giving offense.    Not exactly Bush=Hitler stuff, really, but very funny.  I hope it gets good circulation on the net, and let’s especially hope that Albright issues some terse and snippy statement, which will really give this thing  legs.  

Categories Diplomacy/Humor/Satire/Kim Jong Il
October 11, 2006

Kim Jong Il Unplugged, Part 12

“If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. Well, what on earth did they expect?  Applause?  Mind you, they still have the chutzpah to say they want to disarm, but the last time they said that was just hours before their alleged nuke test.  Meanwhile,...

Categories China & Korea/Japan & Korea/NK Economics/WMD
October 10, 2006

U.S. to Propose Arms Embargo on North Korea

I’d proposed it two days before July’s missile tests, because of the rising danger of another preventable famine, but  it now looks as if John Bolton is circulating  this concept  as part of what he’d tried to get from the U.N. after the July missile tests: The United States circulated a draft U.N. resolution late Monday that would condemn North Korea’s nuclear test and impose tough sanctions on the reclusive communist nation for Pyongyang’s “flagrant disregard” of the Security Council’s...

Categories "United" Nations/China/China & Korea/Famine & Food Aid/Money Laundering/NK Economics/WMD
October 9, 2006

N. Korea Claims ‘Successful’ Nuclear Test

Update 3: Welcome, Michelle Malkin readers! —– From the Washington Post: SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test. The country’s official Korean Central News Agency said the test was performed successfully and there was no radioactive leakage from the site. “The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the [sic] our military and people,” KCNA said. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the test was conducted at...

Categories Diplomacy/NK Economics/NK Military/WMD
October 6, 2006

Brace Yourself for Another Clarifying Moment

In Seoul, the latest North Korean nuke scare is quaintly described as a cat among the pigeons, or more gravely, is said to “endanger[] us all.” For some of us, who’ve long considered North Korean nukes to be a grave problem that would continue to defy conventional solutions, the emotions are more mixed. Nobody would enjoy the prospect of a fallout cloud drifing over Seoul, Tokyo, or Beijing, but our last clarifying moment didn’t clarify things for long, it seems....

Categories Uncategorized
October 6, 2006

Marcus Noland on the Economic Implications of Nuke Test

[Update:   link fixed, thanks!]   Last night, just before “Yoduk Story” (my not-a-review  post here), I met several of the people often quoted and cited in these pages, including Ambassadors Vershbow and Lefkowitz, but also the scholar and economist Marcus Noland, someone whose work I’ve long admired for its rigor, research, and objectivity.  This morning, Mr. Noland kindly forwarded two of his recent articles:  “The Economic Implications of a North Korean Nuclear Test,” and “The Economic Implications of a...

Categories NK Economics/WMD
October 5, 2006

Yoduk Story: A Roundup, Not a Review

I expected to hate it, because until last night, I’ve never not hated a musical. Actually, it held my interest and entertained me for three entire hours, and this from a man who is officially diagnosed with ADD. At times, I was quite moved, and I saw plenty of people in the audience crying. I didn’t “enjoy” it, any more than I “enjoyed” Schindler’s List. This wasn’t “Schindler’s List,” but it looked like good art to me, and a credible,...

Categories The Camps
October 4, 2006

I Am Not a Theater Critic

Just want to clarify a point: I will attend Yoduk Story tonight, but I will do so entirely for political reasons. I’ve never been to a musical in my life, never even watched one end-to-end on TV (unless you count The Blues Brothers, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail). I am not qualified to review the play, so I won’t. I’ll just report anything unusual or interesting from a political perspective, which is possible, since the guest list is...

Categories Uncategorized
October 3, 2006

The Death of an Alliance, Part 54

Last week, sitting barely more than arm’s length from Deputy Undersecretary of Richard Lawless, I detected a veiled threat to reduce the U.S. military presence in Korea if Korea doesn’t increase its contribution to cost sharing. The veil is now off. Richard Lawless, the deputy undersecretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, told reporters that the administration may have to make cuts in Korea — in personnel or in other areas — if the 38 percent share of...

Categories Uncategorized
October 3, 2006

Speaker Hyde?

To me, this one is simple: any member of Congress who knew that Rep. Mark Foley was molesting underage boys, and who did not report what he knew to law enforcement, must resign. These statements look pretty incriminating to me, although they don’t exclude the possibility of reporting to the police. An issue I have yet to see anyone raise: that would also apply to any Democrats who knew the same facts, but decided to wait until late September to...

Categories Uncategorized
October 3, 2006

Too Late to Stop Ban Ki-Moon

Unfortunately, it looks like he has the Secretary General position all locked up. Sadly, he seems to have bought a significant amount of the support the made the difference. One wonders whether the U.N.’s next scandal will be the story of Ban’s accession.  Sadder still, he did it with the support of our own State Department, which smells (my raw suspicion; no evidence asserted) like a behind-the-back handshake between the “pro-engagement” faction and  the U.N.  This means that when it...

Categories "United" Nations
October 3, 2006

Too Late to Stop Ban Ki-Moon

Unfortunately, it looks like he has the Secretary General position all locked up. Sadly, he seems to have bought a significant amount of the support the made the difference. One wonders whether the U.N.’s next scandal will be the story of Ban’s accession. Sadder still, he did it with the support of our own State Department, which smells (my raw suspicion; no evidence asserted) like a behind-the-back handshake between the “pro-engagement” faction and the U.N. This means that when it...

Categories Uncategorized