George Bush's Last Act: Defer to North Korea

15.10.2008

With all of George Bush's huffing and puffing about North Korea's nuclear bingo game, the administration has shown that, well, it is best at huffing and puffing. Iran has clearly learned from Pyongyang that the best way to win in this world is to talk.

The Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (beware of countries with overly long names) has been involved in so many rogue operations that have fed its military (and only its military) that it shows no sign of let-up. No sign. This is the game that Dr. Strangelove/Dr. Khan also played, and both North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran have been his customers. In the meantime, he has gone unpunished for his proliferating nuclear crimes in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is not a republic or, for that matter, a state.

Negotiations, the criminal rogue states have learned, is the way to survive. Negotiations ad infinitum and ad nauseum. And it's not only the atomic criminals. It's also the routine murderers and terrorists. That's why Sudan wants to negotiate and why Syria wants to negotiate. If negotiations is a goal in itself for the West, why shouldn't the rogue states take advantage of this little peculiarity? It costs them nothing and wins them time, at the least.

I know that John Bolton, former American ambassador to the United Nations, is a bête noire for many liberals. One reason is that he tried to explain that Security Council Resolution 1701 (yes, Ms. Rice's work) ending the 1976 war in Lebanon would hand Hezbollah a victory, as it has. This is another instance of disastrously failed negotiations. But Condi continues her obsessive work on the Palestinian front with everybody laughing behind her back.

In any case, yesterday Bolton published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that the new agreement with Kim Jong Il -another one of those primogeniture democratic republic tryants- was not an agreement at all.

Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 1:21 PM with 4 comment(s)

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ironyroad said:

Hm. I'd say Bolton is a bete-noire for liberals (or indeed for decent, intelligent people of any political stripe) because of his tireless efforts during 2000-3 to concoct evidence of WMD in Iraq when there was no real evidence to be had.

Other than that, I'm sure he's fine.

October 15, 2008 3:15 PM

blackton said:

Come on Marty, we got no cards to play in North Korea, they have no trading partner except China, and China has no intention of involving themselves too much there except to prop up the regime and to prevent it from getting to out of hand (which they have done) The Chinese said no more Nuke tests and the North Koreans said yes sir.

Bolton's hissy fit notwithstanding, being on or removed from the list means jack shit to the North Koreans. They tell their people our food aid is a form of tribute to them. I met and taught a number of North Koreans in China (most Korean restaurants there are from former North Koreans, not South Koreans). The US had zero impact on their live except to scare them as some dangerous monster. Radios there are welded to only NK stations.

And if you think during this current economic meltdown that the Japanese or South Koreans really care that much about who is on what list, then Bolton really has learned nothing.

As to why they are removed, this is payback to the Chinese for financing our wars and reining in North Korea. George Bush has been the best American President China has ever had.

October 15, 2008 3:24 PM

Stuart Wild said:

Do you mean 2006 war? In 1976 Condi was still pursuing her concert piano career, I thought.

October 15, 2008 3:32 PM

ginzy said:

The problem with North Korea is not simply its nuke testing. Arguably the greater problem is its long-time cooperation with Iran's missile and nuclear weapon development program, and increasingly now with the Syrians as well. Bolton, more than anyone else, has been warning about N.K.'s nuclear proliferation activities (which also are a source of hard currency) for years. Sooner or later the naive fools and useful idiots that unfortunately have come to dominate a once sane Democratic party will come to their senses, perhaps after Iran successfully tests an A-bomb.

I just hope that the "later" won't be too late... or that Israel won't end up being the delusional Dems' miner's canary.

Hershel Ginsburg

Efrata / Jerusalem

October 15, 2008 6:20 PM