Oh, how I long for the good old days when the leaders of my country held positions of esteem and respect throughout most of the world community.
In fact, after 5 years of Bush foreign policy, we now have to look in the rear view mirror just to see the days when we were feared enough by our enemies that they would think twice before poking us with a stick!
Take this report in which North Korea openly mocks Condoleeza Rice.
The conclusion?The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday accused Rice -- who called North Korea a "completely irresponsible" and "dangerous" state for launching (several test) missiles -- of distorting the facts.
It said the North was under threat of attack from "the worst gangsters in the world" after the Bush administration listed it as part of an "axis of evil."
This cannot be construed otherwise than an outburst made by a political imbecile.Ouch! They may not be able to shoot a missile more than a few hundred miles, but they know an incompetent diplomat when they see one!
This all brings to mind Paul Krugman’s recent piece (registration required), which restates from an earlier column the following explanation for the behavior of North Korea.
As I wrote back in January 2003, ... the “Bush doctrine” of preventive war was, in practice, a plan to “talk trash and carry a small stick.” It was obvious ... that the administration was preparing to invade Iraq not because it posed a real threat, but because it looked like a soft target. The message to North Korea, which really did have an active nuclear program, was clear: “The Bush administration,” I wrote, ... “says you’re evil. It won’t offer you aid, even if you cancel your nuclear program.... But for all its belligerence, the Bush administration seems willing to confront only regimes that are militarily weak.” So “the best self-preservation strategy ... is to be dangerous.”Under George W. Bush, the U.S. has become the playground bully who acts tough - but everyone knows will leave you alone as long as you don’t act weak, because he’s scared to death of being hit back!
While I agree with Krugman's analysis, I don't know if I would be inclined to pay much attention to any of North Korea's public pronouncements. They are consistantly so defiant, unreasonable, self-aggrandizing and inflamatory that they are worthless, at least for anything beyond their undeniable entertainment value.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a really depressing quote, try this one. I found it in Daniel Weintraub's "Insider" Weblog in the Bee. Some guy named Jon Fleischman was bashing the Guvinator's speech about illegal immigration, and he quoted Alexander de Toqueville. The quote didn't make much sense in the context that Mr. Fleischman cited, but I think that it applies all too well to our Dear Leader, his administration, and alas, our present reputation in the world:
"America is great because America is good. When she ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."
Yeah, well if you don't want to accept that Rice is an imbecile from the North Koreans, how about from some prominent conservatives like Newt Gingrich and Richard Perle?
ReplyDeleteI realize they aren't much more credible than the North Koreans, but by sheer weight of agreement between extremely strange bedfellows, Condi has got to go!
They ALL need to go!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading that the neocon true-believers are throwing Condi under the bus. I guess she can say hello to Colin Powell under there (do I detect a trend in the neocon's choices of scapegoats?).
Speaking of anarchy and mayhem, I just bought tickets for 2 Raider games; the 9/11 (and it's always all about 9/11) Monday Night Opener against the Chargers, and the 11/12 Sunday game against the hated Ass Ponies. Mrs. LWJ is presently on the fence about attending; I'll let you know when she makes-up her mind...