Guest columnist Alec Jacobs slams Obama’s approach to the North Korean missile crises.
Alec Jacobs, Guest Columnist
Ideology: Very Conservative
Obama’s decisions about when to act and when not to act have been consistently puzzling. He insisted on action when it came to the stimulus bill (which was passed without being read because action was needed so immediately) and we have only seen the economy worsen. He demanded action regarding the closing of Guantanamo Bay, but has yet to give anyone so much as a hint about what he plans to do with detainees currently being held there. Action absolutely needed to be taken when it came to Cap and Trade (again, passed by the House without having been read through). Yet, when it came to promoting democracy around the world, Obama chose to remain silent as protestors in Iran were killed in the streets. But perhaps the most pressing issue is a threat to our national security that Obama has decided almost not to acknowledge at all –North Korea. I find it slightly troubling that Obama is seemingly more worried about the effects of global warming decades and centuries away, than he is with missiles pointed at Hawaii, Alaska and US allies.
Many people dismiss North Korea as being too underdeveloped and unstable to pose a significant threat. Wrong! The threat from North Korea is very real.
When North Korea refused to shut down missile production earlier this year, Obama took a bold step. He went to the United Nations and told on Kim Jong-Il, a move equivalent in effectiveness to me asking Ted Kennedy not to drink before driving me home. But Obama didn’t stop there! No, no, he went back to the U.N. a second time when (shockingly) it didn’t work the first time. Oddly, still nothing has changed.
On the Fourth of July, North Korea decided to launch seven Scud missiles, in defiance of the United Nations and the United States. The missiles landed in the Sea of Japan, but with stunning accuracy.
North Korea is also the prime suspect in a cyberattack on U.S. government websites, as well as websites in South Korea. While the effects of the cyberattack were negligible and no security breach has been found (yet), the actions of North Korea were clearly aggressive in nature, and serve as a reminder that they are developing the capabilities to launch cyber warfare.
Time and again, North Korea has chosen to defy the U.S. and the world, whether it is firing test missiles, launching cyberattacks, or threatening to “wipe out” the “U.S. imperialists.”
And what has Obama done? Not surprisingly, next to nothing.
Considering that Bush did nothing except claim they were evil and wait for them to get nuclear weapons, I’m not sure what the big stink is about.
But yes, I agree with your premise — something must be done about the whackjobs with the weapons that can vaporize cities.
Propose a concrete course of action for the administration and I’ll hear your case. Until then, this type of empty ramble contributes absolutely nothing.
Noah-
Bush took, what I imagine is your preferred course of action, UN sanctions and six-party talks, rather than attack the country (a la Iraq/Neo-Cons). What Obama has done is literally nothing at all.
Tyler-
As editor, I’d just like to point out that Alec is completely within his right to criticize the position of an administration, and it does in fact contribute to the dialogue. Secondly, and quite frankly, I think the course of action that Alec seeks is – quite obviously – the opposite of silence: condemnation and ANY action at all from the White House, in response to missiles being reportedly aimed at US states.
Conor,
I think bombing Little Kimmy’s palaces every time he pulled stuff like this would work too.
N
Conor,
I was in no way implying that I didn’t think he was entitled to voice his opinion on this blog. What I’m saying is that vague calls for action against North Korea are meaningless if they are not complemented by an alternative to the status quo.
I get it, Alec, you don’t like the way Obama’s handled North Korea thus far. That, however, is about all I’m gleaming from you. Why is that? Are you too afraid to call for some form of military action?
I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t with you, Tyler. If I don’t call for military action, I’m afraid. If I do, I presume you’d call me a warmonger and go on to criticize military action in Iraq under the evil Bush administration.
It’s not my job as a citizen to come up with alternative courses of action. What I’m saying is that Obama should be doing that, but he isn’t. Instead, he sits idly by as North Korea threatens to wipe us off the face of the Earth and launches various forms of attack on us.
I’m perfectly entitled to say that I’m not happy with how he’s handled things and I want that to change.
Alec,
your pieces never fail to entertain. thank you!