Monday, October 31, 2005

Talk, Talk, Die, Die

The North Koreans are upset that our pressure over other issues is making them less willing to negotiate their nuclear plans:

"The basic spirit of the joint statement of the talks is mutual respect and peaceful coexistence," the North Korean news agency said. "The pressure campaign launched by the U.S. under the groundless pretexts of 'human rights abuse' and 'illegal trafficking' defying this spirit is little short of annulling the statement."

It said such U.S. pressure could heighten tensions and "hamstring the process for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula."

An interesting claim that wrongly assumes North Korea is willing to get rid of their nuclear plans.

It also assumes we think anything can come of the talks.

Personally, I simply want the talks to drag on while North Korea implodes. Every month the talks go on, the more North Korea's military machine deteriorates. Each month, North Koreans head toward the point when fear is outweighed by desperation.

Yet the talks keep the North Koreans hoping for a respite to their woes if we hand them the big check again. This hope keeps them from launching a desperate war while they can do some damage and hopefully get a frightenend West to agree to shovel money at them. The West has capitulated before and Pyongyang expects us to break again.

So keep talking and let North Korea walk if they get upset about us bringing up other issues. Every month they have a weaker option of going to war. And if they go to war, all bets are off on regime change. Nobody's stopping at the DMZ this time if the North launches a war.

If instead the people of North Korea get fed up and the military is too weak to respond, the Pillsbury Nuke Boy will flee to China with his Joy Brigade to die in comfy exile.