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Last Chance with North Korea
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
After Kim Jong Il’s nuclear test, what can Barack Obama do with no viable military options? He can play the only card he has left: Ask China for help.
North Korea sure knows how to get President Obama’s attention on Memorial Day. And it’s not by extending an unclenched fist.
While its first nuclear test in 2006 was by all accounts a dud, Pyongyang’s test this morning at 9:54 a.m. GMT apparently yielded a more than respectable blast of between 4 and 20 kilotons.
That officially makes North Korea the ninth member of the world’s nuclear club—and the only state to have signed and withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international dike against proliferation now springing so many leaks that it risks collapsing.
Beijing can command North Korea’s attention in a way that Washington cannot. Until now, it has declined to do so, eager to shore up the ugly North Korean regime to prevent its collapse or reunification with South Korea.
What to do now? The expected denunciations are being proclaimed today at the United Nations Security Council, which is meeting to discuss what President Obama called North Korea’s “violation of international law,” and a “threat to international peace and security.” Such provocations, he added, “will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolation.”
But the White House statement was short on specifics. Stating the obvious—that North Korea’s tests “warrant action”—President Obama said the U.S. would “continue working with our allies and partners in the six-party talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead.”
But all “partners” are not equal. China is the key to stopping North Korea’s nuclear-weapon activities. Just as Obama must cajole Beijing into supporting tough sanctions against another nuclear-power wannabe—the Islamic Republic of Iran—the administration must persuade China to do what it has so far resisted: Tell North Korea to cease and desist its nuclear development and dismantle the program, as it has previously pledged to do.
Make no mistake: China must now act. It supplies between 80 and 90 percent of North Korea’s electric power, 90 percent of its crude oil and all of its diesel fuel. Between 70 and 80 percent of North Korea’s food imports come through China. And while ailing autocrat Kim Jong Il clearly doesn’t care if his people starve, he might care if China nixes his apparent plans, as reported in The Wall Street Journal two days ago, to have his brother-in-law and third son succeed him.
As Thomas C. Reed and Danny B. Stillman argue convincingly in their terrifying new book, The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation, China is the only country with true leverage over North Korea.
A little nuclear history is in order here. Washington, these authors note, has tried myriad strategies to rein in Pyongyang since the end of the 1980s, when it developed enough fissile material for one or two atomic bombs. (It now has enough plutonium for five or six.) Washington has considered but always rejected military action—wisely, they believe, given U.S. troops' presence in South Korea and the vulnerability of our South Korean ally.
In spring of 1994, Reed and Stillman note, President Clinton’s Defense secretary, William Perry, developed plans to bomb North Korea’s plutonium reactor, but shelved the option out of concern that North Korea would attack South Korea.
North Korea then tested its bomb, a one-kiloton dud that achieved only 4 percent of its yield design, say Reed and Stillman. Though a technical failure, the test was a political success. It prompted the U.S. to return to six-party talks. This, John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. argued only five days ago, “gave Kim Jong Il cover to further advance his nuclear program.”
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Why America Must Learn to Bow
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
Going Rogue: The Index
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Life After the Bombs
Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative reporter for the New York Times. She is now an adjunct fellow at Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor to its magazine, City Journal, and a Fox News commentator.
Beirut's Fragile Peace
Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative reporter for the New York Times. She is now an adjunct fellow at Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor to its magazine, City Journal, and a Fox News commentator.
Praying With Obama and My Prison Pastor
Judith Miller is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative reporter for the New York Times. She is now an adjunct fellow at Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor to its magazine, City Journal, and a Fox News commentator.
Judith Miller?
No thanks.
Next time you see file film of the North Korean Army marching in their main square with "Great Leader," Kim Jong Il reviewing from the box above, look at the chests of the goose stepping soldiers. Their uniforms are starched. The shirts do not hide they his ground forces are all fat free and underweight!
An Army marches on its stomach. Great Leader's army is hungry.
In an actual battle against their brothers, south of the 38th parallel, an issue 60 years ago but not today, the North Korean army would collapse in a week. But an atomic bomb does not require a couple bowls of rice every day.
We need to a plan to overthrow the North Korean government, without delay, our goal, killing less then one hundred people, but total destruction of all military installations north of 38th parallel.
Upon that, a doable strategy, after 12 hours the white flag will fly and the country will immediately start becoming one Korea. The korean people North and South will endorse that, instantly!
This should be Obama's goal but this strategy / plan / idea requires creative thinking which is a prob limb. Obama is a winner. He is not a leader, nor is he a creative thinker. In that sense, the world is leaderless.
Having said that much as an introductory:
In the dead of bitter winter - say the middle of January we should bomb, without warning, specifically using those huge 500 pound bombs that create those monster craters - say a half dozen of them all around the main square in Pyongyang, where file film shows "Great Leader" reviewing his troops, at 4:00 a.m., when Pyongyang bureaucracy is asleep and absolutely no one is around!
One half dozen monster 500 pound bombs in the Pyongyang Square and no one is killed.
This bombing in the dead of night will have the effect of blowing out every window for blocks around. The square is surrounded by government buildings so the government will in effect be frozen out of business - shut down - because every building will be an ice cold freezing. Computers will not work when the temperature is 20 degrees below zero.
Option: Parachute in 20 South Korean commandos to seize the television station so immediately we begin broadcasting to the North Korean population, taking into account the only people with televisions are government employees.
We need every nuclear submarine in our own Red October arsenal to move up to the North Korean coast. Diplomacy: We want to invite the Russians and Chinese to join us with their submarine fleets also.
Then at 4:00 a.m. we cruise with our missiles all at once and hit every airfield hangar. With B-52's at the same time we hit eery airfield with the 500 pound monster bombs, to create huge pot holes on all the runways so any jet fighters that survive the cruise missile attack can't take off anyway. Bottom line: planes and airfields demolished. Fighter pilots and supporting people live.
At the same time, using infra red tech, at the 38th parallel, hit every building that has a stove blasting. Those would be the buildings where the army commanders are hanging out. They have plenty fuel oil for their stoves.
All the other barracks where the lowly enlisted one bowl of rice a day are living will be low heat because they don't have enough fuel. Those soldiers will be under their covers. We target only the warmest barracks.
Our purpose is to take out the commanders so an order to attack cannot be given. A hundred commanders should do the trick. One hundred heroes die a million lives are saved.
There is nothing to fear of an attack on South Korea by the North Korean army bunched at the border, whether or not we take out the command posts, though they are about 20 miles from Soul, because none of the North Korean trucks or tanks will start - all of the batteries are down in the dead of winter.
The North Koreans don't have enough fuel to start the trucks and tanks every day to keep the batteries charged!
At the same time leaflets everywhere and loudspeakers inviting the North Korean Army to immediately march south waving white flags and expect a hot lunch when they get to the suburbs of Soul, expect to start tomorrow in the KIA factory.
Through diplomatic channels we offer an olive branch and take it or leave it 500 acres in Montana for Great Leader Kim.
The most important element - the key to success is all of the above could be put into an illustrated loose leaf notebook and presented to the Jap-Sin-Easy, The Rooskies, and the shiny Cheyenne- Easy, to secretly pass along to Great Leader Kim, giving Great Leader ample time to consider the consequence of his nuclear pretense.
He has a choice. 500 acres in Montana, or permanent visit with Saddam the Big Salami. The loose leaf notebook will do it.
These are the words of the poet prophet candidate for president - what he will do upon election - what he would be doing right now were he president. He sent this to me via email with instructions to post it. Visit michael s levinson dot commie to see the improvements in his web site. Visit alphabet-learning.com/phonicsbox.html where you will see and hear the first column only in his 112 page double column Television Scripture he wrote down to perform on whirled wide television for all the world's peoples to participate in all at once.
Then you might ask yourself who do you prefer to deal with "Great Leader" poet prophet or who you got?
grrrrr
one of the craziest things i've ever read
Dear Billy Bob,
The North Korean and South Korean people would like to live as one people. Standing in the way is a vicious buffoon, also known as "Great Leader, and the bureaucracy he created.
The above was featured in a great movie, a few years ago. It was titled, "Wagging the Dog."
When Kim drops an A bomb a lot of dangerous nuclear dust is going to blow over China, Japan, and Russia. They don't want that. These other countries do not fear a United Korea.
Tell us how you would bring that about. What is wrong with producing a loose leaf notebook with graphic examples of what we are capable of doing without involving any of our troops or actually killing any Koreans (except for the 38th parallel commanders and that is only a possibility.
The North Korean people are slowly starving to death! Don't you get that?
I'm not saying the "nuclear threat" is inconsiderable... but whoever plays that card first (if it's not the US) had better be prepared to find themselves looking a glowing hole in the ground where their country used to be the very next day.
When nuclear proliferation was REALLY scary was when thousands of nukes were ready to be fired on a hair trigger by two (or three?) superpowers.
Today, even if North Korea fired off all the five or six missiles they have fissile material for, and *all of them hit the US*, it would HURT us, but not destroy us... and North Korea would be history within hours.
The same is true for any country that allows a nuclear strike against America... they'd better be prepared to simply cease to exist the following day.
Nukes could cause a great deal of grief in the US, maybe even the loss of a major city or three... but, hell, huge fires and earthquakes have decimated American cities before... we're just too BIG to be knocked out with one punch. Most of these little nuclear wannabes do not have that advantage.
Fanatics may not care if they're sent to Allah for their reward... but we'll be happy to arrange that if so much as one suitcase nuke goes off in the US, I pretty much guarantee you.
Seems like swatting down their first attempt (as Ash Carter suggested) would definitely have been the smart move.
Kind of like throwing a punch at Bruce Lee and having him casually snatch your fist out of the air. Deterrent for sure(ent).
If China has no success with this spiteful, childish little man, then I think we should arrange for N. Korea to cease to exist - without nukes first, but if necessary with them. To let a loaded gun remain in the hands of a spiteful child is like asking for catastrophe.
Spoken like a true chickenhawk. Let's destroy an entire country because it has a leader we don't like. Volunteer to drop the bombs, then you can talk.
North Korea makes the Iranian leadership look almost sane, by comparison. Judith got the time wrong. It was 9:54am local time Monday, not GMT.
North Korea at this point is a living monument to the pathetic ego of one little man; a broken, useless strip of barren land, bereft of ingenuity charm or intellect. I, for one, could foresee the international community sanctioning the utter destruction of North Korea without hesitation, such is the frustration caused by Kim Jong Ils intransigence and double dealings. Even the Chinese are fed up with them.
And for anybody looking for a first hand account of just what a mess N. Korea has made of itself, and why it may be impossible to salvage, look at this mini-documentary from Vice TV, it's really chilling stuff.
http://www.vbs.tv/shows/north-korea/
Ugh, The Daily Beast hired/employs Judy Miller? Crappy journalist, crappier human being.
"Spoken like a true chickenhawk."
xbainx appears to think you can only have an opinion on military matters if you have worn the uniform. Let's see, that would eliminate everyone in the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, most of the GOP leadership -- well, just about everyone. Dude, I'm just sayin', as the barren fat lady from up north would say. It's not just the nuclear weapon. North Korea has thousands -- THOUSANDS -- artillery pieces pointed at Seoul. Think about it.
I don't have to defend peace. It has a good track record. YOU have to defend war. War created the situation in Korea. The U.S. is a great country, but it has done terrible things. You are not going to war. If there's a draft I am going. So you can talk all you want, but you don't know your history.
Peace has a good record until the shit hits the fan, as it invariably does. The appeasement of the Nazis when they invaded Czechoslavakia is a good example. It led Hitler to misjudge what Britain and France would do if he invaded Poland. Um, do you know about that? (I thought not). The division of Korea was an outgrowth of Communist expansion. Do you know about THAT? (I thought not). You seem like a young person. Maybe you should consider withholding any further opinions on big issues until you have undergone further seasoning by age and experience. You'll be surprised how much they change.
That's right xbainx...the US has done terrible things...like expending thousands of servicemens lives to pull Eruopes ass out the fire, like going to war against japan that bruitalized the east, and many other circumstances that are politically debateable. Take it from me....the military does not want a draft...some politicians do for political reasons. And with suitcase nukes on the market...you won't have to go to war...war will come to you.
The US has no viable military options?
Who are you and where do you live tha tyou believe that?
THe US has no palatable military options.
Not the same thing, not at all.
Here's hoping China will deal, because if they don't, we will have to.
the US has no military option (that includes distastefull solutions) or diplomatic option.
North Korea has the 4th largest army in the world with around 1 million troops and thousands of missiles pointed at South Korea.
Right now NK has China's support and needs absolutly no one else. They couldn't care less about sanctions from western countries. Kim claims NK only needs 15% of its population to go on so he is ready to make any sacrifice.
Seems to me that NK's just looking for some attention. The problem isn't that NK might at some point use 'the bomb' on the USA or SK (nuclear radius, wind, it's a lose lose scenario), but rather the potential for their on-selling them to terrorists / or other non-US loving countries...which is easier with Pakistan anyway. So whats the big deal? And besides, the US has a decent track record of fostering internal conflict and uprisings in Sth America...why hasn't it worked in Nth Korea? Kim's the attention seeking kid in pre-school, throwing rocks at people, while Pakistan's more like the schizo kid that might just stab someone...hard.
China is the only nation with leverage over N. Korea. It is about time they play their part. They have, in large part created this problem... let them deal with it.
Here is the test that came up in the election....good luck!
The daily Beast proves it is a worthless MERICON (ignorant brainwashed Americans = MERICONS,you know a slur like NAZI) internet propaganda piece publishing propaganda from the CIA agent Judith Miller. You should be locked in a cage for your crimes Judith Miller and summarily executed for the death of 1.3 million Iraqis. The US empirial army has been threatening North Korea with destruction since Truman in 1950 - a threat of a nuclear war of aggression. The US has constantly tried to starve the people of North Korea to death with Japanese help. In the latest installment of acts of aggression the empirial army under the command of Obama threatened to shoot down North Koreas satellite launch - again another threat of a act of aggression which would lead to a war. Damn American imperialism, damn reporters who work for the CIA and damn this magazine for publishing such trash which pushes for war. Death to American imperialism and all who support it.
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What about a little A-list actor diplomacy? He seems to love everything Hollywood.
China has already condemned N. Korea. Let's see what happens. I know U.S. is supposed to be the leader of the free world, but let's let someone else play this part for once. We have enough on our hands with Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Its is time for China to step up to the plate and show some leadership in providing order to the world.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/25/2580513.htm
"The Chinese Government expresses its resolute opposition," the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
"The Chinese side vehemently demands North Korea abides by its denuclearisation promises, stop any actions which may worsen the situation and return to the six-party talks process.
"The Chinese Government calls on all sides to calmly and appropriately deal [with the situation]."
Poll-driven career political class and Path of Least Resistance policy formulations once again West's soft underbelly.
China is the only thing that keeps the regime in N. Korea from total collapse. They underwrite most of it's physical needs and prop up the nation as a whole. There is a reason N. Korea will only listen to China. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.
I believe that is the policy of the Chinese military. The Chinese people would not be opposed to a unified Korea.
Obama should immediately fly to North Korea and apologize to Kim and bow to him and then start top-level negotiations with Kim without any preconditions on what the US must do in order to be friends with him.
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As I understand it, North Korea was ready to deal with us at the end of the Clinton administration, but eight years of Bush bungling and threats have left us confronting a nuclear-armed foe. Perhaps worth mentioning that this is one more toxic legacy from Bush-Cheney?
Bowing to Kim might not be enough. Groveling at his feet might be necessary.
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Go to the top of the commentary to read my comment. Also the michael s levinson dot commie web site is getting an update. My favorite page is alphabet-learning.com/phonicsbox.html
REACTIVE NOT PROACTIVE!
(I'm Shocked and Dismayed!)
Now, it has been pretty well established that the Magic Negro, the Media Made Messiah Imperial President of the (AIE) American Israeli Empire, is NOT a thinker, but a reactor, not coach or leadership material. In the Grand Game II, this puts the boy at a serious disadvantage while playing "Bee" Ball, Basketball, in a game of high stakes Chess. The (PRC) Peoples Republic of China and The Russian Federation know that The Republic of North Korea was going to test a (20KT) Twenty Kilotonne Nuclear Device, YES! Without and any prostration that "I"M Shocked and Dismayed to know that Gambling has been going on under my very nose, in Ricks place!" like believing that BiBi, didn't talk to (GWB) George Walker Bush, and the Magic Negro about Israel bombing the Shi-ite Persian Republic of Iraq. And the loud thud you head was the Magic Negro, and Bibi's plan of a Hierarchical Structured World as the rug was pulled out from under their feet and their backsides hid the floor. Now who is the Magic Negro going to kowtow to but the (SPHERE OF INFLUENCE) the Peoples Republic of China, (Red China), the country who owns the (AIE) financial debt, the country that fought against the (AIE) in Korea, Vietnam, has an on going standoff against in the China Sea over, (As those land-based threats have receded, new areas of possible conflict have emerged at sea. China has become more assertive in its aim to establish its sovereignty claims over a string of islands to its east and south. This has led to arguments with, among others, Japan and Taiwan, a self-governing island that China says must be reunited with the mainland. China also has to consider the US, the region's pre-eminent naval power and Taiwan's main source of military and diplomatic support. SOURCE: Russia Today) (This case though is not like those other perennially difficult bits of Security Council business - such as Iran, Zimbabwe and Sudan - where Chinese or Russian backing for a regime not to America's liking paralyses collective action. SOURCE: China in the driving seat over North Korea, Mark Urban, BBC)
(Hierarchical Structure)
Now, this was all about send a clear cut message to the Magic Negro that the Hierarchical Structure is a type of New World Order Structure with the (AIE), American Israeli Empire, and Israel at the apex, just isn't going to happen, no matter how much time, money or effort is put into creating a better behavioral and efficient structure, with the Imperial Media Messiah World President and (CEO), as the head of the World State, with the other world leaders following and working for the good of the group. The New World Order, geo-political structure would be controlled by (AIPAC/AZC) American Israel Public Affairs Committee/American Zionist Council, a (100K) One-hundred membership neo-conservative Jewish lobbyists group, connected to various caucus members of influential members of the Empire's pro-Israel lawmakers the (544) Imperial Court. The New World Order Geo-Economic Center, the (IMF) International Monetary Fund and The World Bank, made up of member countries representing around (90%) Ninety-Percent of global gross nation product, (80%) eighty per-cent of world trade and (66%) Sixty-Six Percent of the world's population now, and would continue the dollar based world currency system, the (NYSE) New York Stock Exchange would act as the World center of economic investments and trading with other world branch markets, under its control of the. The (AIE) would be the Geo-Para-military World Police Force, drawing on military assets, provided from member countries, with no restraint upon its authority, with over (300) Three-hundred military bases, located within (130) One-hundred-thirty countries scattered around the globe, financed by the (AIE) taxpayer, and every country that holds, treasury bonds, government securities, and short term treasury bills, at a cost of (%u20AC1.14B) One-Point-Fourteen-Billion Euros per day to keep its military installations and personnel functioning not only at home, but abroad. The (AIE) would have Global Domination, as a benign Manager State.
(Spheres of Influence)
What stands in the way of the realization of the New World Order is lack of time, and the resistance that has been encountered to obtain control of the energy markets of the world, in particular the Islamic Crescent States. The Russian Federation and other world States reject the Hierarchical Structure Theory, in favor of the Spheres of Influence Theory, rejecting the concept of the current (AIE), standing against military adventures, that (NATO) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the (AIE) are engaged upon. Such as the (AIE) building of a missile system surrounding the Russian Federation, and the establishment of an Empire Hierarchical World Order Structure, of totalitarian, and authoritanism, violating the sovereign rights of people to exist independently, without foreign troops within their territory. The (BRIC), Brazil, The Russian Federation, India, The Peoples Republic of China, the German & French Axis, and the British Commonwealth all are in fact spheres of influence, and they are in fact flexing their collective muscles geo-politically-economically-militarily, to prevent the establishment of an (AIE) Hierarchical World Order Structure.
Thank you.
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