U.S. Politics – Page 5

September 29, 2009

Obama Administration Says First Words About Human Rights in North Korea

Eight months, a missile test, and a nuclear test after President Obama’s inauguration, he has finally gotten around to nominating Bob King to be Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, a move mandated by the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 and the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008. The United States said Friday it was “very concerned” about human rights violations in North Korea, as President Barack Obama named an envoy to focus on...

Activism/Diplomacy/Human Rights/U.S. Politics

September 27, 2009

Here in America, We Are Still Very Far from 150-Day Battles, But Close to Mid-Term Elections

KCJ’s comment here, on the fawning Songs of Obama sung in a New Jersey classroom, inspired me to write a response that may warrant its own post. Here is the video KCJ is talking about: This is creepy stuff, and I’d be livid if my kids ever come home singing something like this. Now, where is the evidence that this is the work of the Obama Administration, as opposed to that of one unintelligent Kool-Aid drinking teacher? WSJ blogger James...

U.S. Politics

August 19, 2009

What’s Going on with North Korea’s â€œConciliatory Movesâ€?

At times, reading about the life of Kim Dae-jung made me think I was reading the brief for a blockbuster movie in the making. His struggles and accomplishments read like the stuff films are made of and it’s true, no matter what you thought of him, DJ leaves behind a legacy in South Korea full of successes and failures. But during my readings, a statement about his death’s impact on the future of North-South relations caught my eye (see page...

Media Criticism/North-South/U.S. Politics

August 10, 2009

Kremlinology Watch, Washington Edition: Did the Clintons Just Screw Up Our North Korea Policy Again?

How far has Kim Jong Il’s skillful use of two American hostages set back our efforts to disarm him? Assuming, as we safely can, that President Obama made some concessions for their release, all now depends on whether the President is willing to let himself be upstaged by the Clintons, be cornered into making concessions under the duress of an implicit threat to the safety of two American hostages, and give needlessly fastidious honor to a deal between two men...

Appeasement/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

August 9, 2009

Whoa. That’s just cold.

I’d have to say that this is the nastiest thing I’ve read yet about Laura Ling and Euna Lee. And that said, it contains much interesting information that may or may not be at all true. This, for example: Kim Jong Il has ruled it with absolute authority since 1994. He was born in the Forties, but his exact birthday is asecret. He wears platform shoes and a teased hairdo and is reputed to have had a string of lovers,...

Ling/Lee Incident/U.S. Politics

August 8, 2009

Henceforth, All Art Must Serve the State

In a world fully possessed of its senses, Lanny Davis would have marked himself indelibly as a national laughingstock by now. It worries me that as one, the “artistic community” has wheeled from near-unanimous opposition to the state to near-unanimous opposition to any dissent against it. And now that I mull it some, it may be the very term “artistic community” that scares and confuses me the most: Consider the recent flurry of debate over the Obama “Joker” posters that...

Censorship/Democracy/U.S. Politics

August 7, 2009

Lanny Davis Impersonates KCNA, Beclowns Self

So intricately forked is Lanny’s tongue that he’s apparently capable of performing analingus on three subjects at the same time: The release of the two journalists by the North Koreans on Tuesday night D.C. time was the result of a tour-de-force, trifecta combination of the three most talented and truly great political leaders of our times — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; her husband, former President Bill Clinton; and President Barack Obama. [Lanny Davis, The Hill] He forgot to...

U.S. Politics/Unintended Humor

August 7, 2009

In What Sense Is John Choe Morally Distinguishable from a Neo-Nazi?

John Choe, personifying the appellation “useful idiot” as pictured here, won’t shift U.S. foreign policy if he’s elected to represent a district in Queens in the New York City Council. Technically, Choe is correct when he evades questions about his sympathies with North Korea’s regime and demurs, “I’m not running for secretary of state–I’m running to represent the 20th district in the City Council,”Â Choe said. That is true in the same sense that David Duke ran for governor of...

Activism/Human Rights/The Fifth Column/U.S. Politics

July 25, 2009

Give to Them As They Do, Not as They Say

In our second great WTF moment of this week, the Republican Party just called me asking for money to buy ad space to condemn Barack Obama’s weak Jimmy Carter-style foreign policy. Set aside the fact that the major premise of the pitch just doesn’t square with the truth. How the hell can anyone make that claim with a straight face in light of George W. Bush’s North Korea legacy? Did these people, in the name of a strong foreign policy,...

U.S. Politics

July 22, 2009

John Kerry Tries, Fails to Stop Amendment Calling for N. Korea to be Re-Listed as Terror Sponsor (Update: Dems Defeat Amendment, 54-43)

Progress on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is always tenuous and remains incomplete. But the regime’s nuclear declaration is the latest reminder that, despite President Bush’s once bellicose rhetoric, engaging our enemies can pay dividends…. Now the president must not prematurely close the books on North Korea’s alleged uranium enrichment activities and nuclear exports. We must ensure there are credible verification and monitoring procedures to ensure North Korea is out of the nuclear business for the long term. —...

Appeasement/Ling/Lee Incident/Sanctions/Terrorism (NK)/U.S. Politics

July 21, 2009

Absolute Must Read: Washington Post on North Korea’s Concentration Camps

At last. The Washington Post has done a truly detailed, comprehensive, well-researched story on North Korea’s concentration camps. It’s a story that the Post wouldn’t have done had Anthony Faiola or Glenn Kessler been doing the reporting; Blaine Harden deserves much credit for writing what deserves to become a major exhibit in the indictment of our State Department for its culpable complicity. The satellite imagery of the camps features prominently in the story. (Disclosure: I provided Mr. Harden and one...

Human Rights/The Camps/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

July 10, 2009

Brownback Introduces Sanctions Bill in the Senate

Thomas still doesn’t have the text for S.1416, though it summarizes the bill as follows: Title: A bill require [sic] the redesignation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, to impose sanctions with respect to North Korea, to require reports on the status of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and counterproliferation efforts, and for other purposes. The bill has two co-sponsors, Kyl and Gregg, both Republicans, although it’s not clear how Democrats will react, given the administration’s mood:...

Ling/Lee Incident/Sanctions/U.S. Politics

July 1, 2009

Robert King to Be Next NK Human Rights Special Envoy? (Updated)

So says a reader I trust. The little I know is that he was a staffer who worked for Rep. Tom Lantos, meaning he probably knows plenty about foreign policy and shares his former boss’s interest in human rights, but may not have much specific Asia expertise. Here’s a photo of him. There are three things that I like about King without knowing anything else. First, he’s not a State Department insider. Second, he’s not the same person who will...

Diplomacy/Human Rights/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

June 29, 2009

Obama Forms Team Plan B

The Washington Post is reporting that President Obama is forming an inter-agency team, much like the Illicit Activities Initiative that David Asher headed in G.W. Bush’s first term, to coordinate sanctions against North Korea: The White House is forming an interagency team to coordinate sanctions efforts against North Korea with other nations, senior administration officials said yesterday. The team will be led by Philip S. Goldberg, a former ambassador to Bolivia who is slated to leave for China in the...

Diplomacy/Money Laundering/Sanctions/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

June 28, 2009

Sam Brownback Strikes Again

Now, he’s holding the nomination of Kurt Campbell to replace Chris Hill as Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Recently, Brownback has used the power of the nomination hold to become the congressional oversight over State’s spectacularly unsuccessful North Korea policy that no one on the Foreign Relations Committee is willing to be. He’s brought a degree of public scrutiny to some of State’s dumbest decisions, and has managed to slow down — but not stop — the...

Diplomacy/Sanctions/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

June 16, 2009

Poll: Obama Too Soft on North Korea

Admittedly, I’m ambivalent about this. On the one hand, I’ve noted signs that Obama’s North Korea policy is headed in the right direction — a far better one than Bush’s, if carried out in a sustained and comprehensive way — although I think Obama will probably do a Chris Hill and buy the same horse all over again the minute North Korea offers to sign Agreed Framework III. Still, my idea of “loyal opposition” extends an elected president and its...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/Terrorism/Iraq/U.S. Politics

June 12, 2009

Obama Muzzles Gore, Richardson

Apparently, Secretary of State Clinton thinks one Special Envoy is plenty: The New Mexico governor, who negotiated the return of Americans from North Korea in the 1990s, was a ubiquitous presence in the early days of the crisis, but on Monday, he abruptly went dark and is now refusing all media requests, Caitlin Kelleher, a spokeswoman, said. His silence, people following the situation closely said, is part of a broader administration strategy to handle the delicate situation with immense care...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/U.S. Politics/Uncategorized