Axis of Evil

Can we all just agree that North Korea deserves its place on the axis of evil?

This just in: North Korea does have a secret nuclear weapons program notwithstanding their agreement not to pursue nuclear weapons. Gosh, isn’t this shocking that a brutal dictatorship would lie to us? Heavens, what is the proper multilateralist to think? Quickly now, let’s sign another agreement with them! Send Jimmy Carter!

How much more simply can we present the North Koreans before the world gives us a little respect on this issue? The horrible famines that have killed and wasted an entire population have not been viewed as humanitarian crises but as embarrassments to Pyongyang. The rulers hid the problem that they created lest somebody doubt the regime’s wisdom and capacity to govern. If this is not evil, what is?

And if a hidden famine and the threat of nuclear devastation from the "Dear Leader" are not disturbing, five Japanese abducted by the psycho North Korean regime were allowed to return to Japan for a week—their families are kept in North Korea to ensure their return. Does this not at least put a human face on the regime’s evil? An easily graspable symbol of the horrors of North Korea? Good God, I hope so.

Does this mean we must invade? No. You do what is achievable; and North Korean military power and Seoul’s unfortunate proximity to the border argue against a military solution to the North Korean problem. But isolating the regime should be a must. Sunshine as the South Koreans practice it is not the answer. It can only be part of the solution if it is designed to forestall a desperate North Korean invasion yet not significantly strengthen and prolong the North’s grip on power. Then, eventually North Korea will collapse, perhaps quite suddenly.

I hope it happens soon enough so we do not have to decide whether to launch an air campaign to delay their fielding of usable nuclear missiles. I also hope we will attack Iraq with enough force to quickly win so we can regroup our forces before North Korea is tempted to attack. They’d lose even if we were involved in Iraq, but the South Koreans would suffer tremendously until we could intervene. The South is powerful enough to win, but we are needed to keep the cost from being the ruination of their country.

On another note, my deepest sympathies to the Australians for their loss of life at Bali. Remember that much of our press would not like to emphasize your loss lest the deaths propel us to war against Iraq faster. Australia’s friendship is deeply appreciated and we will win this war together. We fought together on the ground in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Our troops have crawled across the cold mountains of Afghanistan together. We will win this war too.