Andrew Hagen

The President of the United States has just ended his one month of vacation, two weeks more than the average American is allowed. Taking his Labor Day holiday somewhere, Mr. Bush will be distressed to learn that North Korea has broken off from the 6–nation nuclear disarmament talks. (*) The Times thinks Kim Jong Il thinks Bush is distracted by Iraq. I think Bush is not really paying attention to anything beyond his jogging routine and his 2004 campaign coffers.

If North Korea tests a nuclear device, the seismic shock wave will be picked up around the world. The President says such a test will result in an economic quarantine. North Korea has long said that economic sanctions would be perceived as an act of war.

If it comes to war, James Woolsey and Thomas McInerney have recently opined that the US and South Korea can crush North Korea. (†) No matter how it would go, it wouldn’t be a pretty picture.

Let’s hope a grown up somewhere comes to his senses. Between Kim Jong Il and George W. Bush, I’m not so sure war can be avoided. Will they rise above expectations?

Colin Powell, where are you? Maybe you can force Bush to swallow his pride and accept bilateral talks.

One last thought: maybe Bush thinks Kim is bluffing.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 31st, 2003 at 02:06 and is filed under North Korea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.