North Korea, that cruel,
destitute,sword-rattling nation, ranks along with such nations as Berkina
Fasco, Tuvalu, and Comorous as nations Americans rarely, if ever, think about. Until,
that is, North Korea declares it’s goings to bomb Austin Texas and A-bomb South
Korea.
Obviously
North Korea and its chub-chub dictator with the shaved sideburns and
bowl-shaped haircut don’t like obscurity.
But the way
the country’s leadership goes about seeking attention is odd. No insane.
The
country issues warnings that it is about to invade its neighbor. It broadcasts
videos of troops in live-fire exercises, and images of its fat dictator
studying military maps with ranks of Army officers at his back. And there are
photos of armed women soldiers marching—one trooper wearing high heels.
It’s really not common
these days for nations to give advance notice they’re going to invade or attack
a neighbor or enemy. Remember Pearl
Harbor?
Sure, North Korea owns
A-bombs and it may be able to mount one on a ballistic missile. But while North
Korea has fewer than 10 bombs with an unknown number “active” (or effective as
a bomb) the United States has 7,700 with 2,150 active. And the world knows that
if South Korea is attacked, the United States is pledged to defend her. And the
U.S. defense is capable of delivering devastation.l
So
North Korea’s actions are farcical. We’re witnessing slap-stick comedy.
North Korea is like a Chihuahua barking and
snarling at a Doberman Pinscher. If the tiny dog attacked it would lose its
head in one bite.
Indeed tiny dogs bark
at bigger dogs because they are fearful and show bravado to assure the big guys
won’t bother them. And big dogs mostly just ignore their little K9 cousins.
In fact, even though
some news accounts refer to the “North Korea crisis,” most of the world seems
more confused than seriously worried about the North’s threats. Still,
government and military officials must prepare for the utterly remote chance
that either by accident or intent North Korea creates a violent incident.
There
is a mildly amusing aspect to the situation North Korea has caused. That’s
because media pundits, foreign affairs scholars, and think-tank fellows fall
all over themselves on news shows trying to explain North Korea’s unexplainable
actions. All eventually concede no one knows what’s in the mind of the
Pyongyang dictator or his handlers. All theories seem to defy the test of logic,
as some “experts” admit.
However Andrei Lankov,
a history professor at Kookmin University in Seongbuk-gu, a city near Seoul in
South Korea, has a suggestion. In a New York Times Op-Ed Page article, he
writes:
“…It does not make sense to credulously take
their [North Korea’s] fake belligerence at face value and give them the
attention they want now. It would be better if people in Washington and New
York took a lesson from the people of Seoul.” In Seoul, he notes, it’s business
as usual.
A final thought though:
If after this blog is
posted and read and North Korea actually makes good on any of his taunts and
threats--well, let’s just pretend the blog were never written.
---Gus
Gribbin
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