N Korea

[Gunthr]

I don't believe we need to do much about the nuke inspectors being thrown out of N. Korea. The N. Koreans are a rather insignificant problem. You can't eat nuclear bombs, and that is the situation they are in.

Remember, N. Koreans have enough food to eat only because of the USA. Incredibly, we still provide huge amounts of aid to N. Korea, even now.

N. Korean govt is a loose canon on the world scene, but besides those couple of nukes they've got, they are irrelevent and on the verge of collapse - that is why they are grandstanding.

Does anyone else see this differently?

[AKIron]

South Korea isn't the only country in jeopardy, Japan is short nuke lob away.

Anti-american sentiment has been growing in South Korea over the last decade or so. Maybe it is time to stop baby sitting over there and encourage Japan to spend more than 5% of their GNP on defense as well.

[Kieran]

If South Korea is happy without us, let China handle it. Of course that little police action 50 years ago should tell SK something about the way China views things, but hey, maybe things are changed. At any rate, I really personally don't care if SK is communist or not, and I am more than a little tired of sending our boys to places they aren't really wanted or needed.

[mrfish]

Originally posted by OZkansas
What is the UN doing to stop N Korea from violating UN resolutions?  

the same thing they're doing to stop isreal from violating 40 years worth of UN resolutions- nothing.

come on. not the US nor any other country actually cares whether a country violates UN resolutions unless it's helpful to their agenda.

the US needs an excuse to exert it's will from time to time and the resolutions are a handy way to justify our actions when the 'reason' guys can't think of anything else good enough to hold back the press.

you didn't think that whole "they violated UN resolutions so that's the reason we've got to get em" stuff was anything more than rhetoric did you?

i can't believe that stuff works so well.

[Kieran]

Middle East is different to me for one reason- Israel.

[Sparks]

I think the point most of in the west don't pick up on is Far Eastern culture differences when it comes to nation and conflict.  These guys think in 50, 100, 200 year terms - NOT 4 year terms.  

I remember Tianaman square and Kate Adie reporting on BBC.  She spoke to a chinese historian just after the masacre about the view of the chinese government to the foreign outrage.  The answer was they don't care - they knew that in 5 or 10 maybe even 15 years we would have forgotten it.  That is exactly what has happened - our leaders have changed and with it foreign policy and we want their trade now ....... what square was that ?? What happened??

The North Koreans don't give a rats bellybutton what we think - their leadership is looking way further in the future than this year or next year and will do whatever they can to achieve what they want.

The threat is real - we should deal with it IMHO or our children will have a much bigger one to sort out.  

Iraq is a distraction to secure the next 50 years of oil - look further East for our long term future.

[Gunthr]

South Korea isn't the only country in jeopardy, Japan is short nuke lob away.

Yep... Japan should be uneasy. I agree, let them do as they see fit.

In light of all the anti-American sentiment in S.K., its no wonder N.K. is now apparently trying to do peacefully what we have prevented them from doing militarily - reunite the Korean peninsula. (against those war-mongering capitalist pigs, the Americans)

I'm wondering if it isn't time to get the hell out of there. Let them do as they wish. (it should be fun to watch the failed communist north try to blend with the successful capitalistic south.)  

[Tuomio]

The reactor provides only 5MW of power which is same as 2 (!)windmill generators do. So the _only_sole_ purpose of it is to create material for nuclear weapons, thats why it was ordered to shut down years ago.
If you look the past of N Korea you see, that they are only trying to blackmail another 500 000 tons of oil from USA with this action. Our peace loving Europeans will sit with their thumbs up in their bellybutton and yell at you if you wont pay the ransom. I really feel ashamed of European behalf. They try to cover their inability to do decicions with nice words like "Lets try the diplomatic way".. BS, nuke them N Koreans theyre scum of the earth with their current leadership.

[mrfish]

Originally posted by Tuomio
Our peace loving Europeans will sit with their thumbs up in their bellybutton and yell at you if you wont pay the ransom. I really feel ashamed of European behalf.  

man, drive around the asian continent for a while.....every third mile there's deutsche telecom or totalfinaelf or something. the europeans have invested deep into asia especially the germans and french.

i remember traveling around china and running into loads of germans and french. sometimes i wonder if the reason for their hesitance in these world affairs isn't financially motivated since asia looks like a giant industrial park for western business anyway.

don't be ashamed, no continent will ever nail canned fish and chocolate covered wafers the way you all have.