I haven’t written much about the most recent events because I don’t have anything new to say. The current crisis – and it clearly is one – is, in my view, a consequence of the Carter-Clinton appeasement deal in 1994. I don’t envy the Bush administration for having to deal with it, especially now. But the dumbest argument, parlayed throughout the media, especially abroad, is that the North Korean crisis somehow displays an inconsistency in the Bush foreign policy. Shouldn’t we be threatening North Korea with war rather than Iraq, they ask? Er, no. The reason we’re about to go to war with Saddam is precisely to avoid the possibility of Saddam becoming Kim Jong Il. Once Saddam gets a nuke for sure, we’re completely screwed. We’d have to allow him to bask in the glory of being the only Arab leader with this capacity, using his impregnable territory to foment terrorism, more weapons of mass destruction, and the like. When he uses this power to set off chemical or biological weapons in America, we will have to initiate a nuclear war to defend ourselves. This, of course, is exactly the scenario the so-called peace agenda will make inevitable. Which is why it isn’t in any meaningful sense about peace. As to North Korea, I don’t believe negotiating in good faith with murderous thugs is an option. We have to contain, credibly threaten consequences if Pyongyang does anything to further destabilize the region, and try to achieve regime change slowly. This won’t be easy, and it’s full of risks. Watching the gruesome situation unfold makes me more anxious to see the demise of Saddam’s regime. We’ve already waited too long – and thugs like Kim jong Il and Yasser Arafat have taken advantage of the lull. We cannot afford to wait much longer.
RAINES VERSUS BLOGS?: No surprise that Howell Raines might despise the blogosphere. It’s done more to expose his trashing of the Times’ reputation for accuracy, honesty and balance than many others. But is he planning a hit-job on the blog world’s Pied Piper, Glenn Reynolds? This posting suggests the Times might be sniffing around for dirt.
THE TAO OF WOY: A charming reminiscence by Robert Harris of Roy Jenkins, the British politician and man of letters (author of the most recent biography of Churchill), who died a few days ago. Check it out.
WHY NOT GRAHAM? Florida’s Bob Graham is taking the Kennedy tack against Nixon: he’s accusing Bush of being too soft on international terror and Iraq. He’s from a pivotal state and, more than any other Dem apart from Joe Lieberman, has foreign policy credibility. So why is he being ignored? The New Republic’s indispensable Michael Crowley provides a useful curtain-raiser. I say: let Graham run. It’ll be good for the Dems and good for the country.
BEGALA AWARD NOMINEE: “So now the U.S. senate is going to be led by the cat world’s answer to Dr. Mengele! A man who can do that is capable of any infamy. Can’t you just picture this oily Tennessean cooing and clucking over the tabbies and tortoiseshells at the shelter, solemnly wagging his head as the shelter staff counseled him on proper cat procedures, then dragging the poor creatures into his lab and torturing them to death?” – Alexander Cockburn on Bill Frist, at workingforchange.com.
THOSE IMPARTIAL ECONOMISTS: Weird that the Washington Post should make the views of two economists about president Bush’s economic plan a big headline story. Especially when one of the economists, Andrew Brimmer, is an actual donor to the DNC. Wouldn’t it have been a fairer story if the reader knew the partisanship of the economists involved?
The Dish 