The war against terrorism is entering its third year, but the U.S. has already lost the most critical battle. The Taliban have been booted from power. Saddam Hussein is on the run. The Bush administration is tightening the noose around the remaining two members of the “axis of evil,” North Korea and Iran. But the… Continue reading We’ve Lost Their Hearts and Minds
It is a testament to the absurdly low expectations attached to the diplomatic abilities of both North Korea and the United States that pundits have avoided the obvious conclusion concerning the recently concluded Six-Party Talks in Beijing. They were a disaster. Here’s the rub, though: the hardliners in Washington got exactly what they wanted and… Continue reading Hexagonal Headache
War so far has not returned to the Korean peninsula. Negotiators from six countries–North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States–are about to sit down in Beijing to keep it that way. In a world dominated by military “solutions” to obdurate problems, even the muted vote for diplomacy represented by the upcoming… Continue reading Six Countries in Search of a Solution
The streets of the capital are broad and the buildings monumental. Inside the grand state offices, a power struggle rages among the political elite, and the side that seems to have the upper hand is insulated, single-minded, and shamelessly belligerent. This clique supports a military-first policy that doesn’t shrink from the first use of nuclear… Continue reading Fearful Symmetry: Washington and Pyongyang
Roh Moo-hyun is coming to Washington with a public and a private message. Publicly, the South Korean president will affirm his government’s desire to strengthen its relationship with the United States and bring a peaceful end to the nuclear crisis with North Korea. The private message, which won’t appear in any newspaper headlines, will be:… Continue reading Eyes on Different Prizes
At the Sunday market at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, the produce proudly announces its origins. There are bananas from Martinique, olives from Spain, artichokes from Brittany and broccoli from Saint-Malo, the place names written just above the prices. Signs tell which family dairies the cheeses come from and whether the lamb grazed… Continue reading Trans-Atlantic Food Fight
A serial invader is always looking over the horizon for the next target. The new U.S. rationale for invasion–the doctrine of “preventive war” that flies in the face of international law–justifies invasion anywhere, anytime. With the war launched in Iraq, the Bush administration appears to be laying the groundwork for its next move: an attack… Continue reading Is North Korea Next?
Roh Moo Hyun, the incoming South Korean president, is part of a trend that raises the hackles of the Bush administration. America now has another outspoken and uncowed “ally.” Roh joins an axis of independence that includes France’s Jacques Chirac and Germany’s Gerhard Schroeder. With friends like these, the Bush team laments, who needs an… Continue reading South Korea Joins the Axis of Independence
For the past two years, the Bush administration has treated North Korea like a child throwing a tantrum. Rather than charm a crying child with a piece of cake or apply a switch to its backside, the current child psychology approach is the “time out”–separate the child from the group until it calms down. Similarly,… Continue reading Time-Out Method Doesn’t Work
“Responding to North Korea’s Surprises,” Foreign Policy in Focus, October 24, 2002 “Diversity Comes to the Meat We Eat,” Newsday, July 29, 2002 “The Politics of Dog,” American Prospect, June 2002 Korean Workers (Review), Korean Quarterly, Summer 2002 “Bush Policy Undermines Progress on Korean Peninsula,” Foreign Policy in Focus, March 2002 “Osama bin Laden’s Secret Strategy” Global Beat Syndicate,… Continue reading 2002 Archives