A friend today asked me to explain why I hate Kerry. My choice of words. Fundamentally, his election would be a disaster for this nation when we can’t afford weak leadership. His policy weaknesses are rooted in his character weaknesses. Here’s my ranting, incohertent stab at ‘splaining a view I’ve felt strongly since the 1980s: 1. Deep down, he’s an America hater. Now G-d knows, if America sent me to an unpopular war, I might hold some bitterness at somebody,...

We started a fascinating discussion today at freenorthkorea.net, in which I responded to arguments against firm action in North Korea because of Iraq. Just as North Korea had once been an excuse for inaction in Iraq, Iraq is now an excuse for inaction in North Korea. The true agenda is thus revealed as inaction in both. I edited my comments for coherence and organization and post them here, in the hope that they will provoke more thought. How Should We...

We started a fascinating discussion today at freenorthkorea.net, in which I responded to arguments against firm action in North Korea because of Iraq. Just as North Korea had once been an excuse for inaction in Iraq, Iraq is now an excuse for inaction in North Korea. The true agenda is thus revealed as inaction in both. I edited my comments for coherence and organization and post them here, in the hope that they will provoke more thought. How Should We...

I know . . . sounds like porn, but it isn’t. One–umm–revealing fact is the degree of positive press that Kerry is getting in the North Korean papers. Perhaps this is simply a reaction against Bush, the devil they know. But it’s also likely that the North Koreans–like many Americans–look at Kerry’s long, dovish record on defense and foreign policy issues and suspect that he will take a softer line and seek (like South Korea) to avoid giving offense and...

I know . . . sounds like porn, but it isn’t. One–umm–revealing fact is the degree of positive press that Kerry is getting in the North Korean papers. Perhaps this is simply a reaction against Bush, the devil they know. But it’s also likely that the North Koreans–like many Americans–look at Kerry’s long, dovish record on defense and foreign policy issues and suspect that he will take a softer line and seek (like South Korea) to avoid giving offense and...

Today, reports that North Korean refugees had again rushed into the German School in Beijing could mean only one thing–Norbert Vollertsen strikes again, preemptively embarrassing all those (you know who you are, South Korea and China) who sought to cut a deal with Pyongyang and sell the North Korean people out. My suspicions were confirmed in an e-mail a few hours later: ********* Following the German example of reunification, German institutions in Beijing will be the main target for further...

Meanwhile, John Bolton needs no such transplants. When asked recently about how he would end the North Korean nuclear crisis, he held up a copy of “The End of North Korea.” You can hate Bolton’s directness, and you can even say that he’s out of his environment in Foggy Bottom (insert fogginess vs. clarity metaphor here). Bolton sees the North Korean situation for what it is and says so. His recent description of North Korea as “hell on earth” caused...

Today, reports that North Korean refugees had again rushed into the German School in Beijing could mean only one thing–Norbert Vollertsen strikes again, preemptively embarrassing all those (you know who you are, South Korea and China) who sought to cut a deal with Pyongyang and sell the North Korean people out. My suspicions were confirmed in an e-mail a few hours later: ********* Following the German example of reunification, German institutions in Beijing will be the main target for further...

Meanwhile, John Bolton needs no such transplants. When asked recently about how he would end the North Korean nuclear crisis, he held up a copy of “The End of North Korea.” You can hate Bolton’s directness, and you can even say that he’s out of his environment in Foggy Bottom (insert fogginess vs. clarity metaphor here). Bolton sees the North Korean situation for what it is and says so. His recent description of North Korea as “hell on earth” caused...

Dear readers, Today this site, still in its infancy, had the highest one-day readership so far. Those are not Andrew Sullivan numbers, to be sure, but great things have small beginnings, particularly in the context of all of the fine sites out there talking about this issue (freenorthkorea.net and chosunjournal.com in particular).* Please feel free to purloin, modify, and make use of the following sample letter to Congress. Just make sure you send it! Time is of the essence. This...

Dear readers, Today this site, still in its infancy, had the highest one-day readership so far. Those are not Andrew Sullivan numbers, to be sure, but great things have small beginnings, particularly in the context of all of the fine sites out there talking about this issue (freenorthkorea.net and chosunjournal.com in particular).* Please feel free to purloin, modify, and make use of the following sample letter to Congress. Just make sure you send it! Time is of the essence. This...

James Taranto, my favorite blogger, writes “Best of the Web” on the Wall Street Journal’s online op-ed page. Today, he brilliantly played back the words of the North-Korea-is-worse-than-Iraq crowd of a year ago, in the context of the new gas chamber revelations (it starts about two-thirds of the way down the column). As you may recall, one of the arguments proferred against the war in Iraq was that North Korea was worse. One has to question what this has to...

James Taranto, my favorite blogger, writes “Best of the Web” on the Wall Street Journal’s online op-ed page. Today, he brilliantly played back the words of the North-Korea-is-worse-than-Iraq crowd of a year ago, in the context of the new gas chamber revelations (it starts about two-thirds of the way down the column). As you may recall, one of the arguments proferred against the war in Iraq was that North Korea was worse. One has to question what this has to...

James Taranto, my favorite blogger, writes “Best of the Web” on the Wall Street Journal’s online op-ed page. Today, he brilliantly played back the words of the North-Korea-is-worse-than-Iraq crowd of a year ago, in the context of the new gas chamber revelations (it starts about two-thirds of the way down the column). As you may recall, one of the arguments proferred against the war in Iraq was that North Korea was worse. One has to question what this has to...

Dear Sir or Madam, Permit me to be blunt. A growing majority of the people of my country, the United States of America, believes that the United Nations has no values, no standards, no decisiveness, and a soft, cowardly paralysis in the face of every crisis that rightfully demands action. Preventing another Holocaust was the reason the U.N. was created, but nearly sixty years later, the U.N. lacks the will to act against crimes of comparable horror and scale. As...

Dear Sir or Madam, Permit me to be blunt. A growing majority of the people of my country, the United States of America, believes that the United Nations has no values, no standards, no decisiveness, and a soft, cowardly paralysis in the face of every crisis that rightfully demands action. Preventing another Holocaust was the reason the U.N. was created, but nearly sixty years later, the U.N. lacks the will to act against crimes of comparable horror and scale. As...

Anne Appelbaum gets it exactly right in today’s WP. Whether the allegations are true or not, they are extremely serious, and are backed by enough credible evidence for them to be a major news story. If there are doubts about the truth of these reports, then let the North Koreans resolve them immediately by letting human rights organizations have full and open access to Camp 22. Barring that, the allegations gain additional credibility. Of course, it is not news that...

Anne Appelbaum gets it exactly right in today’s WP. Whether the allegations are true or not, they are extremely serious, and are backed by enough credible evidence for them to be a major news story. If there are doubts about the truth of these reports, then let the North Koreans resolve them immediately by letting human rights organizations have full and open access to Camp 22. Barring that, the allegations gain additional credibility. Of course, it is not news that...