The situation in North Korea worries me. Now that I think about it, I 'm surprised the issue didn't come to a head sooner. It was only a matter of time with a regime so oppressive and oriented against our interests. Not only do they represent an obstacle to our interest of peace in east Asia, but a legitimate threat to our ally South Korea. With one EMP blast or surface nuclear explosion South Korea would be catastrophically damaged. I believe the war would most definitely be won by the US who is legally binded to assist South Korea in a war, but it would be costly. It would be unlike any war we've experienced since Vietnam. There would be much more casualties and I'm not sure that's something anyone is ready for. For me personally if need be, I could possibly be pulled out of school to be deployed. This is unlikely in all but the most desperate of times and seeing as our troop strength is stretched at the moment it suddenly doesn't seem so far fetched.
Despite all this, a line in the sand must be drawn, Enough is enough. How long can we let this go on. We aren't appeasing them by any means, but there have been no consequences for the North Koreans' actions. They are escalating things. First it was a torpedo attack, and now an outright artillery strike. What is next? While I think it would be unfortunate, there will come a time when we will have to make a decision as to deal with their oppressive regime straight out of Orson Well's 1984 upfront, or to accept them as a constant threat and allow them to gain confidence to the point they do something really terrible with weapons of mass destruction.
I like how Jaime pointed out how we seem to have avoided North Korea (http://letts6.blogspot.com/2010/11/north-korea-reflection.html) and while I disagree that it has to do with the resources the country has, I do think it odd that we have had such a negligent posture in recent years towards the most oppressive, violent, secretive, regime on this earth. Why have we chosen to ignore it? Much of it probably has to do with the media focus, but also I think Americans simply forget if not reminded about certain aspects of the world, because we get so caught up in our own lives and problems. Some thing's gotta give and I wonder if this is the breaking point. I expect we will find out in the coming days.
I think that our conception of North Korea is founded upon some very off-base ideas. First of all, we tend to see the North Koreas as some strange Other. However, all of their actions make sense if you understand them within their internal logic. For example, lets assume that the North Korean government’s legitimacy is founded upon the idea that the outside world is inherently hostile. This would mean that their first priority would be to maintain that idea. If the North Korean people see the outside world as a benevolent and better place that would mean trouble for the government. Therefore, the occasion stoking of flames would be perfectly logical.
ReplyDeleteNow, you say that we need to use military means to eradicate the government. However, if our goal is regime change than by giving them foreign aid we are pursuing our interests, not “appeasing them.” By providing aid we are showing the North Korean people that the outside world (specifically the US) are not oppressive imperialist maniacs. I understand the sentiment that action has to be taken protect the lives of the South Koreans. However, I do not see how war does this. The North Koreans are not about to actually start a war. There is little imminent threat of a large loss of life. Therefore, the best path to regime change is non-military means.