But North Korea isn't in any of those groupings. There are no hopped up Kimunists ready to slam planes into our buildings or behead captives, sophisticated Americans aren't uncomfortable for being from America on vacation in their cafes, we and our allies don't rely on their oil or natural gas, and nobody tries to mimic their accents to prove their progressive views.
So what does our president think of North Korea? Well:
His patience tested, President Barack Obama on Saturday promised a new and stronger response to defiant North Korea, saying that while he prefers diplomacy he is now taking a "very hard look" at tougher measures. A Pentagon official said no military moves were planned.
Obama's blunt language seemed to point toward nonmilitary penalties such as financial sanctions against North Korea, either within the United Nations or by Washington alone. U.S. allies in Asia may consider new moves to improve their own military defenses.
"We are not intending to continue a policy of rewarding provocation," he said, alluding to recent North Korea nuclear and missile tests.
North Korea presents a challenge for Obama, already burdened with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions. The North poses a military threat to South Korea, with large artillery forces capable of striking Seoul with little or no warning, and previous diplomatic approaches to the North have failed to rid it of nuclear weapons or halt its building of missiles.
"We are going to take a very hard look at how we move forward on these issues, and I don't think that there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilizing the region and we just react in the same ways by, after they've done these things for a while, then we reward them," Obama said.
Administration officials have talked in recent days of possible further penalties against North Korea, already one of the most isolated nations. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has advised Asian allies that additional military defensive measures might be warranted in light of North Korea's pattern of defiance in advancing its missile and nuclear arms programs.
It's like the president wants to man up somewhere so he can deny that he simply likes to retreat from foes, and the Korean peninsula is that place.
I'm starting to feel a little sorry for North Korea. Perhaps they'd best start a mass conversion to Islam to get it on the apologyfest.
