A Kick in the Leg

I guess the North Korean admission of their nuclear program could be construed as a kick in the leg to those who would deal with dictators and trust them to behave in a civilized manner. As William Safire noted: “"It was kind of like a miracle," breathed Jimmy Carter about his supposed conversion of the North Korean leader from lion to lamb on live TV.” At what point does failure to learn from experience go from mere foolishness to willful obstruction?

Oh, and I am waiting for Saddam’s Chinese-style security crackdown/massacre to disabuse the Iraqi people of any notions that Saddam is losing his bloodlust. How the people react to that will be a big question. How loyally his minions carry out the orders to shoot at civilians is a question too.

Hmm, Saddam ordering the families of his diplomats home? It will be interesting if they comply or not. I hope a bunch decide to jump ship. I’ll go out on a limb and say they will. Like the prison release, that will show Saddam’s fragility and not his power. Man, the stories they will tell us.