The munitions-stuffed Ilyushin is no isolated event — not even in recent times. The seizure in Bangkok follows the load of North Korean weapons seized by the United Arab Emirates in August, aboard a ship bound for Iran. That cargo included rocket launchers and ammunition, described on the manifest as oil boring machines.
That followed the curious case of a North Korean ship detained and searched by Indian authorities in early August, which reportedly did not have weapons aboard, but was carrying more than 16,000 tons of sugar to the Middle East. Shipping sugar might be normal for a country with a civilized government and functional economy. But sugar is a highly bizarre load of freight to see coming from North Korea, where millions of starving people are supposed to be the final destination for tons of food delivered by the UN and sent free by countries such as the U.S.
That case followed the mystery tour of the ship which sailed from North Korea in June — bound perhaps for Burma? – and was shadowed by U.S. warships, under a fresh batch of more stringent UN sanctions. After meandering around for a while, that ship finally returned to North Korea, cargo uninspected. And of course that followed North Korea’s second nuclear test, in May, which was itself a violation of UN sanctions. That followed North Korea’s illicit ballistic missile test in April… you get the idea.
Seizing North Korean weapons shipments is a great idea, and if U.S. authorities tipped off the Thais, then kudos for that. But offering carrots at the same time — talks, deals, concessions – is nuts. It sends Pyongyang the dangerous message that lying and cheating and stuffing cargo planes with sanctions-busting international shipments of surface-to-air missiles is, well, regrettable, but actually no big deal.
It is a very big deal. North Korea is a country turning out missiles and nuclear weapons, doing business with America’s worst enemies and run by a regime that respects nothing but force. In dealing with North Korea, diplomacy that tries to meld carrot and stick nets out to handing Kim carrots. With that tell-tale arms cargo still hot off the plane in Bangkok, the only thing U.S. diplomats should be telling Pyongyang is that there’s nothing more to talk about.
I guess this arms shipment that was recently discovered in Bangkok is yet another example of how “effective” UN sanctions are. After all the “Oil for Food” programs and other assorted corruption coming out of the UN, it’s amazing to me that anyone still puts their faith in this corrupt and impotent organization. The only way the North Koreans will take anyone seriously is if there is a naval blockade of that country. A total blockade, with nothing going in or coming out. Anything less than that will be laughed at by the insane people in Pyongyang, especially that warped psychopath Kim Jong Il. The North Koreans keep threatening war if anyone opposes them. The world will have to realize that constantly appeasing dictatorships like this only leads to worse problems. If North Korea was really willing to go to war, why hasn’t it done so already? If it really thinks it can win, what’s stopping them? The United States and South Korea are what’s stopping them. They know that if they launch an attack on South Korea, it will be the end of their regime. Unless there is going to be a military coup in North Korea soon (which seems unlikely), North Korea is going to keep sending arms and nuclear technology abroad. Unless someone forces them to stop doing so through the use of military force, they will simply ignore the rest of the world. Count on it.
Mr. Bosworth, just like Neville Chamberain, was encouraged by the atmosphere which was veryreasonable and businesslike. Why not? When your business is to lull ninnies into concluding that you are going to abandon your primary objective – to destroy them – why not send them on their way, rejoicing in their “negotiating skills”, while you are heartened by their obviously diminishing threat?
All around the world, one-party tyrannies. are being encouraged by an American government that congratulates itself on achievement, gives itself a higher grade, because they have pretended to agree to cooperate. This is commonly known as “setting them up for the sucker punch”.
At a time when our Republic is under open attack from more quarters and by more destructively armed enemies, than in all our history, we find ourselves governed by pea-brained apologists and a treasonous cabal of Mao-inspired neo-communists, supported by a sycophantic press.
The greatest failure of the Founding Fathers was in not providing a means of ridding ourselves, in mid term, of a disastrous and/or treasonous administration – something like the British vote of no confidence.
I guess this means Obama has to bow to Kim Jong Il. He better bring his knee pads this time…
The US State Department has been outmaneuvered and manipulated by the bad guys on a regular basis since WWII. It’s bad enough they generally sympathize with anyone with so much as a blush, but they don’t seem to have a clue how to handle anyone they genuinely want to influence! For a bunch of Ivy-League know-it-alls, these guys seem pretty clueless!
Is it just me or would we be better off as a nation just “bundling” our entire DoS into the UN and shipping the complete stinking lot off to Bangkok?
I see that Stuart Williamson stole my thunder. When the efforts by Chamberlain, and crew, to sell the Munich Pact are compared to the nonsense about carrots for North Korea, it is safe to say that only one book is used.
So, instead of just talking about it, you yappy Yanks, when are you going to do something about it? After all, the credibility your country is
on a downward spiral.
Bubblehead: The US State Dept has been totally corrupted by career leftist. They continue to work hard to work against our national interests.
It will take someone like Sarah Palin to wakeup the old boys network in Washington. It will take a party outsider hammering her own back to reality and giving notice to the opposition as well, that things have changed, before it ever will.
Until someone has the balls or tits to initiate real change that the O ring has so elegantly stated, but never followed through with, nothing will change, except maybe for the worse.
Now that everyone in the world likes us how come they keep shooting spit wads and taking our lunch?
The U.S. should learn from the Norks – start a program of pin-prick territorial infringement that is brazenly denied, then escalate and de-escalate to taste.
For example, recycling Cold War practice, resume balloon drops of cash (U.S. $ or Chinese Yuan) and propaganda aimed at North Koreans, especially aimed in remote areas. Use cheap UAV’s for more targeted drops of goods (including weapons) aimed at North Korea’s concentration camps.
Catalog the North Korean population, then use small bribes to communicate through indirect channels deep into North Korean society, especially outside Pyongyang.
For example, a reward could be offered whenever complementary messages reach a single recipient inside North Korea through different channels. The recipients would not necessarily need to know exactly what triggers the reward – only that passing on communications can pay.
It is simply amazing that we can try the same things decade after decade, failing the same way in every instance, yet continue to follow the same failed path. This in spite of people like C. Rosett and J. Bolton showing time and time again that this is imbicilic.
Someone should write a sequel to Tuchman’s “Follies of History” with these veritable cornucopias of failed policies, blindly continued – in spite of general recognition that they make no sense and are counter productive.
UN controlled Global warming funds anyone?
The State Department is full of career communist sympathizers. It has been that way since FDR. I think we need another Joe McCarthy to straighten this country out. The crooks we have in government today could care less about what is going outside of their sphere of corruption. Throw some money at North Korea and forget about it.
From Christopher Hill (and even Condi Rice) to, apparently, U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth, the beat goes on as the Norks play their continuing game.
I’d say both Kim and Arachnid-jihad have this game…keep indulging in talk while you conduct nuclear/armament business as usual…down pat.
“At a time when our Republic is under open attack from more quarters and by more destructively armed enemies, than in all our history, we find ourselves governed by pea-brained apologists and a treasonous cabal of Mao-inspired neo-communists, supported by a sycophantic press.”
mmmm mmmm mmmm, sentence of the day, so far
Bee-JEE-ness as usual for the Stalinist State of to be Kim Jung-Un!