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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:12 am
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:14 pm
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North Korea has been anti-American since the Korean war back in the 50s-60s... I hate how inhumane they treat their civilians, and how they would choose to build nuclear weapons over feeding themselves. They follow old communist ideals of being independent from other societies and not relying on trade, yet receive aid from foreign entities, which they store and only give to people subservient and patriotic to their society.
I don't think going to war would be much use, as they have China backing them up, among a few other communist regimes, however, I think that intensive talks should be done. I think if we had better ties with China that we could get something done, they rely heavily on China, if China and many other foreign entities quit helping them out, N. Korea would have it's own downfall, as it's economy is the most controlled, and one of the worst in the world.
In case you haven't heard they just changed their currency and limit the amount that can be exchanged from their own civilians, meaning everyone in their country may lose money.
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Rainbowfied Mouse Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:42 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:23 pm
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You have to analyze the strategic situation for all players involved.
South Korea- Wants diplomatic rapprochement with the North and in principle embraces the concept of reunification. The only elements of society that embrace the US position of a more hawkish stance against the North are the very old who remember the days of the Korean war. The younger generation has always lived under the US security umbrella and trust the intentions of the North, at least in so much as they prefer heady idealism to a confrontation.
Japan- In principle supports the goals of non-proliferation as they are ferociously green in that nation, but are also far to pacifist to back it up with any real military action. They know that the US will bear the burden of any military heavy lifting. They are also mindful of their relative proximity to China vs. the US. They absolutely will not embrace any military buildup or confrontationalism.
China- Is a strategic rival of the US and shares a common border with North Korea. China is not a friend willing to reign in this wayward little state on its border. It's goal is simply to avoid an influx of North Korean refugees, for which it is more than happy to ship aid to that nation. If it can issue half-hearted guarantees and keep the US burning diplomatic capital on the issue, all the better.
North Korea- Loves being the center of attention, wants to blackmail and extort the west, wants to portray to its public that it remains a guerrilla state fighting against capitalist imperialist threats, and would love to have a permanent nuclear security blanket.
When you look at it this way, North Korea really holds all the cards here. There's little to nothing we ourselves can do. So, the real answer we should seek is not how to make North Korea disarm as a consequence of our actions, but how to alter the social preferences of our allies to get them to take steps that could effect the outcome. Nothing we do can force North Korea to disarm. However, an arms race with South Korea would bankrupt them and lead to the state's collapse. Nothing we do can force China to lean on North Korea, but the prospect of a remilitarized nuclear Japan could lead them to exert such pressure.
So, what policies could the US adopt to foster such cooperative attitudes? I think the answer is similar to the argument for why we will pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The argument there is that the only sure way to make the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan step up to the plate and fill the role we fill there is to pull our forces out and force them to fill the role themselves. Similarly, I think the only real way to get South Korea and Japan on board with this is to strongly consider the retraction of the US security umbrella over these nations and leave them to fight their own fight. We should be prepared to fill only a secondary role here. In other words, we shouldn't be the front-line state in the fight to get nukes out of Korea. We should simply be the backup for states willing to undertake this fight themselves.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:03 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:10 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:32 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:47 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 5:58 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:16 pm
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 5:52 am
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 6:18 pm
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:52 pm
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Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 12:06 pm
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 9:47 pm
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