Comment Re:Thoughts From An American (Score 1) 2116
>> I have a hard time grasping why we are not dealing with a fundamentally more dangerous situation in North Korea...
Well, someone somewhere's decided that the perceived immediate threat from Hussein is greater than that of Kim Jong-Il ( interesting if vague profile of KJI at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7839 67.stm ) . I think it's probably a pretty sound assessment, in that Jong-Il is only now revamping his nuclear program, but Iraq has had stocks of Sarin, Vx and the like for years now.
And as far as pursuing diplomacy goes, look, it's only going to be successful if both parties are willing to pursue it. Hussein was only willing to pursue it in that it bought him time, and during these last few weeks, it was becoming quite apparent that he'd lost interest even in that aspect of it-- if he'd been a bit more canny about his "compliance" recently, he probably could have prolonged the "should we or shouldn't we" period much longer.
The only time diplomacy works with a country that doesn't want any part of it is when there are nasty pointy things waiting just outside that country if and when it says "no."
And all things being equal, I'm glad Bush is taking care of the Iraq threat now and not wrapping his towel around his head.
Well, someone somewhere's decided that the perceived immediate threat from Hussein is greater than that of Kim Jong-Il ( interesting if vague profile of KJI at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/783
And as far as pursuing diplomacy goes, look, it's only going to be successful if both parties are willing to pursue it. Hussein was only willing to pursue it in that it bought him time, and during these last few weeks, it was becoming quite apparent that he'd lost interest even in that aspect of it-- if he'd been a bit more canny about his "compliance" recently, he probably could have prolonged the "should we or shouldn't we" period much longer.
The only time diplomacy works with a country that doesn't want any part of it is when there are nasty pointy things waiting just outside that country if and when it says "no."
And all things being equal, I'm glad Bush is taking care of the Iraq threat now and not wrapping his towel around his head.
