This Means World War III for Sure

Contrary to previous reports suggesting that he was out of the running, Bill Stanton has been named head of the American Institute on Taiwan, making him the de-facto U.S. Ambassador to Taiwan.  The post does not require confirmation by the Senate.  Recall that Stanton (no relation) had called Laura Ling and Euna Lee “stupid” and a distraction from “bigger issues” while leading a delegation of young congressional staffers through the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in March.

Later, North Korea claimed to have video of Ling and Lee taping their own entry into North Korea, which North Korea still hasn’t shown us.  If — and it’s a big “if” — the North Korean claims are true, I’d have to modify my previous view and agree with the “stupid” part, especially if that video identifies North Korean refugees and gets them killed.

That said, I don’t regret my criticism of Stanton.  First, I’m not prepared to assume what happened on the border on March 19th, or that Stanton knew something the majority of reporters covering this story still don’t.  Second, I’m a blogger; Stanton is a diplomat charged with protecting the interests of our country and its citizens rather than giving an implied license for foreign nations to make hostages of them.  When diplomats choose their words as poorly as Stanton did, our adversaries tend to make dangerous miscalculations.