Posted on 11/25/2010 9:38:13 AM PST by mojito
WHILE it is cowardly and foolish not to resist an act of aggression, the best way to deal with a provocation is to ignore it or so we are taught. By refusing to be provoked, one frustrates and therefore beats the provoker; generations of bullied children have been consoled with this logic. And so it is that the South Korean and American governments usually refer to North Koreas acts of aggression as provocations.
The Norths artillery attack on a populated South Korean island is now getting the same treatment, with the Souths president, Lee Myung-bak, vowing that Pyongyang will be held responsible and that additional provocative acts will be punished several times over.
There is no reason that North Koreas dictator, Kim Jong-il, should take those words seriously. Mr. Lee made similar noises in March, when the North was accused of killing 46 South Korean sailors by torpedoing a naval vessel, the Cheonan, and what was the result? A pacifist South Korean electorate punished Mr. Lees party in regional elections, and the attack faded from the headlines.
The Norths attack on Yeonpyeong Island has been more shocking to South Koreans, but not much more. At my local train station the morning after the attack, a grinning crowd watched coverage of the Asian Games in China on a giant TV screen. The same ethno-nationalism that makes South Koreans such avid followers of international sports also dilutes their indignation at their Northern brethren. South Koreas left-wing press, which tends to shape young opinion, is describing the shelling of the island as the inevitable product of misunderstandings resulting from a lack of dialogue.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Kim will whip out his rolled up newspaper and Obummer will wet himself and do what he's told.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The story says that the South Korean population is showing little concern over the attack. I agree with the author. They should be very concerned but if they don’t care why should we?
Once again, I say bring it on.
Not only are they not concerned, large swaths of the South Korean population blames the United States for every aggressive action the North takes.
It is amazing, but true. South Koreans appear to be very fat and happy, and like Europeans, are fully prepared to get hit now and again without responding so long as nothing interrupts their cushy lifestyles.
To be fair, largely ignoring the North is probably the best policy - most importantly, cutting them off from all food and fuel aid, but the South should not outright shrug off military attacks against them like this at it just invites more of the same.
You cannot reason with North Korea.
True, but WE ingnore the fact that Mexico has invaded us with AT LEAST 600 US army-sized DIVISIONS, if you count each of the sneak-ins as a soldier. 600 divisions is a FAR larger army than any nation has ever fielded, much less INVADED with!
I agree with you. They’re crazy to shrug off being shelled but if they shrug it off we should shrug it off. The nuclear weapon issue is another story.
I’m worried that Jong-Un is far more ambitious and rogue than his predecessors and will be far more dangerous.
If you don’t defend your borders you deserve everything you get. That goes for SK and the US. That’s the prime job of any government not providing Viagra to senior citizens.
Once we get a President with some balls, we should execute a decapitation of the leadership on NK and give the Chinese a nice refugee problem.
I would go one step farther. if the South Koreans don't care we should just pack up and leave.
Why do we assume that China is in disagreement with North Korea?
China has traditionally encouraged infighting between its neighbors. As far as China is concerned, a NK with nukes causing trouble for SK and the USA is good. We waste resources and energy trying to fix a problem we are unwilling to fix right.
His youth (26) certainly suggests that he may be inclined to act very rashly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.