What exactly is going on here?

The US has the world's complete support in the war against terrorism. If there is a clear threat to world's stability, it is the Al Qaeda. The WTC collapse and the Bali bombing are both unimaginable tragedies. These are the events that got the whole world together, these are the events that we need to remember. Why is it that all of the sudden you are in the brink of war with Iraq expecting everybody else to jump along in the fire? As if that's not even enough, add North Korea to the picture.

Just two years ago, I saw two Korean nations walking hand-in-hand in the Sydney Olympic Park amidst the loudest cheers from the spectators in the opening night of the 2000 Olympics, drawing tears from even the most foreign of people. Two years later, a war-mongering President, who despite his speech disability has the audacity to proclaim North Korea as part of an axis of evil. This coming from a guy who inadvertently labeled Africa, a diseased continent. So down the drain goes the'sunshine' policy and now everybody else has to put up with it.

Just read an interesting article about what to do if Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction, something only an American would find mind boggling. I suggest GWB stand on a platform in front of the U.N security council and kiss his own ar$e.

Again, I think whatever the US does she will be labeled the bad guy in this situation.

- Did the US back out of it's agreement with N. Korea? NO. They said they wouldn't produce nukes (the US said: If you stop with the nukes, we'll give you OIL to burn for energy and build safe nuke reactors. They took the booty and ran while continuing their nuke program) MIND YOU this agreement was BEFORE BUSH! Ok?

- I don't see a problem here in regards to the US policy on N. Korea - It was the 'dear leader' and his failed 'juche' policy that has turned his country into a prison while the people there eat friggin grass, mud, and acorns to survive.

- And you blame US policy because of the 'Axis of Evil' quip in a speech that is becomes fact with each passing day? [shakes my head]

- The warmonger is the dear leader who said the other day "UN Sanctions mean war" - please try to defend Kim and his regime on that!

- Africa IS a diseased continent. I don't know the specifics of the statement you're talking about BUT there's a helluva lot of people there that are dying of aids while their witch doctors tell the people if they have intercourse with the young (the younger the better) , they'll be safe from AIDS - babies are being raped - as young as 6 weeks!!! that's nuts, friggin nuts.

Again, while an emotional moment was had at the Olympics - N. Koreans were starving to death while Kim defied the international community by building nukes. YET people like you help keep the dear leader in power because you oppose the US policy and make a 1 sided opinion against the US while not mentioning 'juche' and it's inability to provide HOPE (or even food) to the people of N. Korea - you're complicit my friend ñ your energy is better vested in stopping Kim ñ or elsewhere.

And, uh, welcome to this site Zodiac! - you want a custom user title or something? Let me know



[Edited on 11-1-2003 by Bob88]

Did the US back out of its agreement with N. Korea? YES. What exactly have they done to impliment their end of the deal while the rest of us here are working our tails off. Here is what was agreed long before Bush studied vocabulary. North Korea agreed to dispose of their graphite nuclear reactor in exchange for light water reactors along with supplies of heavy oil for energy generation. Again this was long before Bush knew how to say 'nuclear' oops he still don't know how to say it. A decade has passed and what do we have? Absolutely nothing.

The US also made a commitment along with other countries in the region to move towards a stable political and economic relations with SPECIFIC assurances to North Korea against the threat or use of nuclear weapons by the US. Something we are delighted to hear. Of course the real efforts towards full normalization of relations came from the rest of us, then what do you know, country boy came into office and immediately proclaimed North Korea, an axis of evil with an indication that a war is possible.

And of course North Korea responds in kind and we end up pulling back all of our diplomats after years of delicate planning to resume diplomatic ties.

Sure, North Korea is a prison and a cesspool but you see that's what we're tyring to improve on. We're trying to improve the lives of people who are eating friggin grass, mud, and acorns, and the US are NOT helping.

As far Bush's idiotic comments about Africa being a diseased continent, it's slightly off topic but I have to agree that you probably don't know the specifics about his statement although I would have thought you would. Look, let's just say that when you are talking about improving economic ties with Africa, you don't say that they have a diseased continent.

Doesn't it irk you when you're trying to make friends with someone and some bully comes along and ruins everything?

If the US thinks that North Korea's hostilities are causing its neighboring countries, they are mistaken. A recent poll in Australia suggest that the majority of our population do not believe that North Korea holds a threat against us. Despite headaches and worries by heads of nations in the region, most people believe that North Korea holds no grudges against the world. It's just them against the US. Hey, no one else here are making threats you know. Of course it could get worse depending on how trigger happy Bush is which gets me worried.

Hey, ok, even if you don't agree with me and I bet you don't, some of you must agree that Bush Jr talks like one of the dumbest president you've ever known.

What's a custom user file? Ah, I'll get back to that. Right now I'm turning my machine off.

One final thought...I think it's better to just stick with Iraq right now don't you think?

I guess "Why not?" would be the answer - keeps the people's minds busy.
This is Kim laughing at America until heís bought off. I guess he reads the US media well and can manipulate it better than the mediaís own masters. The recent farce over the arms-ship showed that.
A very hard bit in all this is the geography of the peninsula. Seoul is in a great place for a capital of a united Korea ñan awful place as the capital of a divided Korea. Even dismissing the numerous tales of tunnels under the DMZ etc., one would have to accept that the NK would have Seoul in a day.
Itís not like Afghanistan or Iraq (or S. Vietnam) where you can just bomb away at anything and dismiss the collateral damage. The US would be blowing up SK from hour 1 ñunless a massive pre-emptive strike/attack were sanctioned.
The US lost Seoul twice in the Korean War and could only take it back with hard urban warfare (and it was a very small poor place then).
This is not forgotten, or allowed to be forgotten ñjust as the re-taking of Manila in 1945 isnít forgotten in the Philippines, even to-day. Destroying an enemyís city is one thing: destroying your ìallyísî city is quite another.
Expect Iran as the Bogeyman soon.

As I've posted before: in America's shoes - I'd just walk away and let the Japanese start paying, and worrying.
US policy ñ insofar as it has ever had one: think of Truman sending all the soldiers out in 1947-8 and then having to send them all back - on North Korea has tended to focus on the pious hope that eventually ñas history ticks on and grinding poverty bites ever harder ñ the problem will go away.
This resolution to the issue was pretty much hoped for when Kim1 finally shuffled off this mortal coil (the Clinton administration - in great part responsible for the current mess- as much as admitted this) and no doubt it is hoped that when the arguably even madder Kim 2 dies or is overthrown, all will be well and NK will be like E.Germany. A re-run of the collapse of the Warsaw pact, perhaps.
This conveniently overlooks many facts: not the least of which is that in the eyes of many Koreans (North and South) it is the US that stands in the shoes of the old USSR, as far as E. Europe was concerned. The Koreans got rid of 35 years of Japanese occupation only to have it replaced by what appears to have been 50+ years of US occupation. Americans will be used to such ingratitude by now; but Koreans tend to see this as Vietnamese tended to see the replacement of the French by the US as a bad thing. Even ignoring the distinctly dove-ish new SK leader and the recent protests after the acquittal of US servicemen as temporary phenomena, S.Korea will in no way be a strong ally of the US when the bullets start flying.
However, it would be as unwise to base oneís view of warfare in Korea especially in winter on old re-runs of MASH as it would be to base oneís knowledge of Vietnam on Hollywood.
Itís worth recalling ñas I suggested - that it took the North Koreans (starting from the same place as now) just two days to take Seoul and about as long for the Red Chinese and the North to re-take Seoul a few months later while the US was in full retreat. Indeed US forces ñMarines particularly ñhad retaken Seoul in a hard street battle; but recall that Seoul then was a small poor old-fashioned city: not the megalopolis it is to-day.
Nothing here for the US but ridicule and then, possibly, a lot of blood.