Anju Links for 1 May 2007

*   It has now been 17 days since North Korea violated  its Agreed Framework 2.0  denuclearization commitments.

*   Appeasing Terror:   The good news is that State’s new terror list is out, North Korea is still on it, and I have more time to produce my promised update to this post.  The bad news:  the section on North Korea has much of its content stripped out, particularly that relating to Japanese abductees, a subject North Korea refuses to even discuss.  In other words, State’s movement toward meeting North Korea’s demands is still independent of any compliance or good faith on North Korea’s part (and both are completely absent).  Curiously, family members of Japanese abductees recently met State Department officials and reported receiving “solid responses” that North Korea would not be removed from the list (they don’t know our State Department).  South Korea is telling Japan to drop the subject, yet  South Korea’s  approach to retrieving its own abductees from North Korea isn’t getting anywhere, either.  Some people are just incorrigible, and people who are pliable tend to have trouble accepting that.

*   Is it really a “democracy” movement if North Korea honors it on May Day?  If anyone in the March 15th movement was sincerely fighting for a more democratic society, rest assured that North Korea does not mean to honor them.

*   Al-Masri Dead?   The report still isn’t confirmed, but it claims that his undoing was the Anbar Salvation Front, a group of Sunnis who are tired of living with Al-Qaeda.  The ASF don’t love us, and I really don’t care that they don’t, as long as they’re willing to help us to the extent of ridding Anbar of Al-Qaeda.  If the report turns out to be true, that would make this very long, very interesting, and  remarkably hopeful New York Times report from Ramadi stunningly prescient.  More here, at NRO.

From everything I’ve read, Masri was less charismatic than his predecessor  Zarkawi, but  smarter and ultimately  more dangerous.  Someone else will replace him immediately.  His death is mainly significant as a symptom of a greater trend emerging in Sunni-on-Sunni combat, but there are two more things we can hope.  First, there may be a brief shift toward us psychologicially that may lead to more tips and recruits.  Second, we can hope that Masri’s replacement will be a less skillful back-bencher.  Third, let’s really hope that Masri’s death causes Al-Qaeda to occupy itself with vengeance instead of operations against us or the Iraqi authorities.  Finally, it may buy more time for us here in Washington, the only place this war could really be lost.