Watching the activity in the far east over the past few weeks has led me to one major conclusion. I think that we may see the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Soon.
Kim Jong Il is sort of an interesting character. He hates America and the West, but he consumes our products. Ferrari sports cars, American television, an internet junkie (Kim, if you are reading this, please post your comments. Thanks!) and is reported to have spent $250K on cognac in 2005. Of course, this puts the image in my mind of Kim Jong Il as Tim Meadows' character, "The Ladies Man" from Saturday Night Live and the movie. Picture this, Condoleeza Rice calls him up and Kim says, "Oooh, it's a lady!" The way I see it, this is NOT too far off.
I find it especially interesting to hear former Secretary of State Madeline Albright make outrageous statements about how things were better during the eight years of the Clinton Administration. In fact, Albright said that North Korea was not enriching Uranium during the Clinton years. She said that they did during the former President Bush's administration and they are not. But not when she was there.
Madame Albright, I quote my dad when I say this. Everyone who believes that, stand on your head. Madame Albright, you are a either a fool or you have your head in the sand.
Madame Albright, I will go a step further. And you make take this as praise. I think your policy toward North Korea was second only to Neville Chamberlain's policy toward Nazi Germany in effectiveness.
Now, I am not going to praise the Bush Administration for their handing of this situation either. I think they have screwed it up as well. And the apparent inaction has me scratching my head. The Axis of Evil statement of 2003 did include North Korea. And they have gotten their attention from us finally. I think going to Iraq first made sense because they did have WMD's (as has been finally made widely public through comments in the Senate and House) and because Iraq had a strategic location. Now that we have our troops on either side of Iran, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, they were next on the list. North Korea comes last because of the same reason that existed in 1953. China!!
China will not take our side because it does not benefit them. They will not go directly against us either. Why? Because it does not benefit them. I do not trust the Chinese government. Their culture teaches them that they need to be non-committal until they find a clear benefit from taking sides. Their government also facilitates slave labor. OK, slave may be a strong term. But they have these "labor camps" where they generously provide food, shelter and recreation facilities. Why would the workers ever need to leave? So they don't let them. Technically, they might not be slaves, but we all know the difference. And it keeps the prices at Wal-Mart low.
What will happen in North Korea? It all rests on what the West and Japan is willing to risk when it comes to China. If we tell China to shut up and we will handle it, then we have to see their reaction.
Here is my guess. China does not like the status quo with North Korea either. But, it does not benefit China to act. Japan and the USA can make their move against North Korea, China expresses outrage. The US, Japan and South Korea can rebuild the North as part of a unified Korea. China then can make more money and build their power by selling goods to their new neighbor. And then they can plan their invasion for 20 years down the road.
Because the fact of the matter is, China wants to be the next empire of the world. As long as we maintain our position as a superpower here in the USA, this will not happen. However, too many here in the USA want to end that role.
And THAT is the biggest problem.
Post your thoughts.
