North Korea, John The Prognosticator, & Reinventing The Wheel

How many times must a wheel be reinvented? There is not a person in the West who should not understand that, if you wish to stop rogue nations and organizations from pursuing their policies, then you have to react forcefully to provocations. Underreact and you merely invite further rogue acts. That is the lesson of WWII. It is the lesson of 9-11. It has long been the lesson of theocratic Iran. So why is this lesson, one so clearly written into recent history as well as current events, so seemingly difficult for the left in Western society to fathom.

Case in point - we were promised "aggressive diplomacy" to solve all foreign policy conflicts by Obama. Yet, Obama's almost non-existant responce to North Korea's provocation in April and, as John Bolton told us in the WSJ a few days ago, endless committment to talks has led to yet another, larger provocation from North Korea. As Mr. Bolton predictated just a few days ago, North Korea has conducted a nuclear test. Obviously, 'aggressive diplomacy' is off to a rocky start.

In April, even as Obama spoke in Prague of unilateral nuclear disarmament - since moral suasion is, as Obama sees it, the most effective form of foreign policy - Kim Jong Il fired off an ICBM from somewhere north of the Han River. The response of the Obama administration was feckless at best. No threat was even made to break off the six party talks, nor any other substantive action. Thus it is no surprise that, on May 24, Kim Jong Il thumbed his nose at Obama and the U.S. yet again, this time conducting a test of its nuclear arseanl.

One of the more interesting aspects of this test was that, while it surprised our intelligence community (isn't that worrisome), it was predicted on May 20 by John Bolton, writing in the WSJ. As to the timing and impetus, Bolton wrote:

What the North has lacked thus far is the political opportunity to test without fatally jeopardizing its access to the six-party talks and the legitimacy they provide. . . .

So far, the North faces no such threat from the Obama administration. Despite Pyongyang's aggression, Mr. Bosworth has reiterated that the U.S. is "committed to dialogue" and is "obviously interested in returning to a negotiating table as soon as we can." This is precisely what the North wants: America in a conciliatory mode, eager to bargain, . . .

And thus, as Obama disarms us and makes of himself a shining paragon of toothless virtue for all to ponder, we continue to move ever faster into a nighmare world of nuclear proliferation. Obama's response to the latest provocation -

“North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world, and I strongly condemn their reckless action.”

The President goes on to favor an international response from the U.N. Somehow I don't think Kim Jong Il is too impressed.

As to Mr. Bolton, for having the temerity to forecast the likely consequence of Obama foreign policy, he has been subject to another round of ad hominem attacks from the left, with a particularly scathing one from Allison Kilkenny, a talk show host, writing at HufPo. Ms. Kilkenny is nearly apoplectic that Bolton was given space by the WSJ to suggest such a fantasy as another nuclear test by North Korea. Indeed, according to Ms. Kilkenny, North Korea is "not a threat to the United States" and, further, that anyone who would react strongly to provocations from North Korea or Iran is a fool. Talk about reinventing the wheel, indeed.

(H/T Powerline and Legal Insurrection)