-
The Perils of Intervention in Syria
May 7, 2013 | 37 comments
-
America on Welfare
April 25, 2013 | 46 comments
-
Thursday Is Tax Freedom Day
April 17, 2013 | 5 comments
-
Time for Real Federalism
April 8, 2013 | 23 comments
-
Stalin Died 60 Years Too Late
March 29, 2013 | 73 comments
At Large
The Land of Bad Options
No aid for North Korea so long as it threatens the South. And that’s just for starters.
(Page 2 of 2)
In fact, the administration ended food aid two years ago because the Kim government interfered with outside monitoring. And abuses elsewhere, such as Afghanistan, which in part reflect the ongoing war, should make Washington more, not less, careful in the future.
Nevertheless, Abramowitz is right to believe that politics likely is influencing the administration’s decision — as it should. Tragic as is the plight of the North Korean people, it is a political crisis. The Kim regime consciously disabled the economy and wasted much of the government’s resources. By seeking aid abroad while preaching “juche,” or self-reliance, at home, Pyongyang is asking other nations, including some routinely targeted as enemies, to deliver it from its self-created difficulties.
Moreover, the DPRK sees assistance from other governments as political acts. Were the North Korean problem merely an abundance of well-intentioned bunglers, the West could provide assistance with less concern. However, Pyongyang’s policies are conscious and calculated, and always were intended to benefit the Kim dynasty.
Thus, official food aid would indemnify Pyongyang for its disastrous economic and military policies. Assistance also would help keep the Kim family in power, to the deadly detriment of the North Korean people. Moreover, subsidizing a regime that constantly threatens its neighbors effectively subsidizes the threats, and the means to carry them out. High level North Korea defector Kim Duk-hong told the Wall Street Journal that food assistance “is the same as providing funding for North Korea’s nuclear program.”
Aid would relieve what little pressure the regime faces. For instance, there has been some evidence that rations have been reduced for North Korea’s military and the privileged residents of Pyongyang. Feeding more people today may strengthen the yoke of oppression tomorrow.
American food aid also would relieve the burden on China to support its client state. The Kim regime survives largely because Beijing provides substantial energy and food assistance. For its own reasons, the People’s Republic of China has refused to place meaningful pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program — in contrast to getting the North to attend talks on abandoning its nuclear program.
Since the PRC is committed to the survival of a communist North Korea, let China feed the North’s population. Chinese policy has helped make a starving yet nuclear-armed DPRK a reality. The problem should be placed in Beijing’s lap.
Of course, humanitarianism still understandably appeals, so the U.S. should not block private aid agencies which want to work in the North. Their work, at least, avoids placing an official imprimatur on Pyongyang’s decisions. The greatest human needs might be met while limiting the DPRK’s political advantage. But Washington needs to avoid doing harm while trying to help.
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (30) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Doug Bandow
More Articles From At Large
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/12/21/the-land-of-bad-options
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Her Unrequited Letter
- Ailes: A Voice for the Silent Majority
- Public Nuisances
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
c. j. acworth| 12.21.11 @ 6:59AM
In the last three paragraphs Mr. Bandow gives the conclusion that I reluctantly came to a while ago. The thought of many thousands starving is a heartbreak, but we cannot allow ourselves to be held hostage by our own compassion. Let the Chinese feed the NORKs, the last thing they want to see is a popular revolt and the ensuing instbility. From what I read, the Chicoms are experincing enough of that themselves. How much of that food aid goes onto plates in NK military barraks, I wonder?
Jim| 12.21.11 @ 8:16AM
My heart aches for the children. Adults could rise up in mass and fight and no doubt die for change. They have elected not to. If the food can not get to those for who it is intended then I say no food. Sorry kids.
WRTolkas| 12.21.11 @ 9:12AM
I have been fortunate to have spent time in South Korea and have made lasting friendships with many South Koreans. I asked about the situation in the North and the famine. This is how the famine was explained to me: there is a Korean word that I have forgotten; but this word means total self sufficiency for a person, society, and a nation. This is what the North is following - self sufficiency. And if a few million citizens die off then it is for the greater good of the nation. That is how the situation in the North was explained to me.
Merry Christmas to all American Spectator readers and writers.
Teaghan| 12.21.11 @ 12:39PM
Hmmm, has an obaman ring to it. For the greater good. Grandma will just have to get the pain pill instead.
Minuteman78| 12.21.11 @ 9:30AM
This is where Truman royally screwed up. We could have nuked Pyongyang to the ground in the first months of the Korean war, brought these clowns to their knees just like we did with Japan, then installed a Democracy. I hate like hell to say it but Obama's missing a golden opportunity. Assassinate Kim-whatever the 3rd and take all the tropps now out of Iraq and wipe the place out. But I think Obama actually likes tyrants that torture and starve their own people. He sure acts like one.
Dmac| 12.21.11 @ 10:05AM
I have a completely different take on it. Now that junior is in power invite him to the United States. Let him bring along a general or two. Let him know we are here to be his friend if he so desires, but explain to him it will come at a cost. He must open up his country. Assist and allow his citizens to produce and sell goods and star down the road to total unification with south Korea within 10 years. Only a fool would want to be our enemy once they see all that we have in food production and military might.
If he turns down the offer let him and his Chinese keepers know that the next time his military fires on South Korea there will be total war on the north.
MachiasPrivateer| 12.21.11 @ 10:24AM
Right now, before Christmas, is the time to offer food, fuel and Chrismas tree seedlings to re-forest a barren landscape in the spirit of Christmas. Offer the new rulers a massive carrot to turn away from the old ways and try a new path. No one wants the people, particularly the children, of North Korea to starve or freeze, so why be stinting at the most charitable time of year? Lead by example, not from behind!!!
Did you know that the elders of the ruling Kim family, before their affair with Communism, used to be Presbyterians? Help North Korea celebrate Christmas in 2011!
Al Adab| 12.21.11 @ 10:33AM
The North Korean situation is one we could have faced in 1994. Instead we followed a policy of engagement, read appeasement, by which we provided N K with reactors on their promise of good behavior. Now that we see how that turned out, we might consider a different approach.
CrackerHound| 12.21.11 @ 10:56AM
This is the situation in a nutshell. If aid is not given, millions starve to death. If aid is given, the NK army and elites are fed and their military strength advances unfettered, and slightly less numbers of people starve. Either way the children of N. Korea live on the edge of starvation and this is by design. Their starvation is a political strategy.
As usual in today's world...the difficult (and correct) choices are not made. The diffcult choice in this instance would be to shut off all aid to NK and fortify South Korea and Japan with defensive/offensive military capabilities until such a time as the North collapses or China steps up. Why should the global community allow a weak and brutal nation to kill their own and hold the entire region hostage? The answer is as always, we want to kick the can down the road and avoid facing down existential threats in favor of avoiding the unpleasantness (or political expediency) of correcting a serious problem.
Common sense is not so common anymore. One day very soon, all of this is going to come to head...the approaching economic armageddon, unchecked military threats and geopolitical dysfunction and on and on...will create a situation that will make The Book of Revelations seem like a walk in the park. Everyone of us can see it coming and identify what needs to be done, yet we continue to sleepwalk. Maybe it's for the best and call me a pessimist or doomsayer, but I believe it may be too late anyways. Perhaps our governments have already realised that it is the case which would explain the inaction.
Bob Grant| 12.21.11 @ 9:49PM
So now's not a good time to ask for your opinion on the Grammy nominations?
Kingofthenet| 12.21.11 @ 11:49AM
So you "Bad Boy', You Try and Kill Me? You Fail! HaHa...Hans Blix
Dave Williams| 12.21.11 @ 1:06PM
Those poor people....
....their only purpose seems to be to demonstrate the inevitable result of collectivism. Are we too far down that road to heed their unfortunate example?
cicero| 12.21.11 @ 1:39PM
Everyone seems to assune that the South Koreans are not capable of defending themselves. That is not true. The South is more than a match for the North. The Chinese will not interrvene in any war started by the North. This is not 1950, when the North invaded the South at the behest of the Chinese.
Historically, the Chinese have always wanted to conquer Korea, because of the wealth of the people and land. Currently, I don't see the Chinese wanting North Korea for any reason other than a buffer between it and western style capitalism.
The best thing we can do is to do nothing, and stay out of the way. Without outside aide, and soon, the North Korean regime will collapse. What replaces it remains to be seen, but it can't be any worse for its people. It is just not our fight.
World War II is long over, and the Cold War is done. The time for the United States to defend the world on its own dime are gone. If anyone wants our military aide to keep them safe, they will have to pay full price for it. Otherwise, let them train and supply their troops. Our standing as the defenders of the world has bankrupted us, and allowed allowed those we have defended for free to posture against us, and erect societies built on socialist dreams that have ruined the very fabrics of thier cultures.
CrackerHound| 12.21.11 @ 2:00PM
Yes Cicero...The south can defend themselves as you state....but does the north believe that? If NK believes they can succesfully invade the south or punish them than they will attempt it. Which is the whole reason the US is in South Korea.
Also if North Korea goes after the south, it would pretty much decimate that country unless joint forces are present to nuetalize the north before that horrible scenario happens. With US, South Korean and possibly Canadian and British forces attacking the north, it would be over fairly quick.
Al Adab| 12.21.11 @ 2:20PM
Cicero, Cracker:
Does not the N K posession of the nuke change the algebra?
CrackerHound| 12.21.11 @ 2:25PM
No because I believe their "nuke program" amounts to nothing really. It's a dud.
Secondly, a nuke program in the hands of the current regime is way more dangerous than confronting a country like NK with a nuke program however primitive it may be.
Notice I said confronting and not attacking. My opinion is that we should not let fear dictate how we deal with NK.
c. j. acworth| 12.21.11 @ 2:32PM
The NORKs are the clients of the Chicoms. I seriously doubt they would approve an invasion of the South. Anybody know offhand how much business the Chicoms do with the South? I bet it's plenty.
CrackerHound| 12.21.11 @ 2:49PM
Yes, China does a lot of business with South Korea. China is a huge client of every nation. They are on the level of the US in that aspect.
CJ:"I seriously doubt they would approve an invasion of the South."
I agree. I also don't think China would sit by as western forces attack the north even as retaliation for NK aggression. A war on that peninsula would undoubtably involve Chinese fighting to repel any attackers in NK just as it did in the 1950's.
Al Adab| 12.21.11 @ 2:43PM
It's not a nuke program, they have several usable weapons. Any one of which could make a hash of Inchon. The South is not in a position to respond and clearly we would not.
Wayne| 12.21.11 @ 2:03PM
North Korea is us with 4 more years of Obama.
CrackerHound| 12.21.11 @ 2:20PM
Wayne...we won't get that far in four years...but soon enough.
See my post above @10:56am. I agree with you in the long run. The monetary collapse and world wars/riots will probably put all of us (most of the world) in the same boat. When the US collapses then it gets really bad globally.
I've been told by family and friends that I am fear mongering. I think they actually believe that something like this can never happen here. That is a big mistake on their part. It HAS happened before and it will again. It's almost like standing outside of a house and seeing smoke coming out of a window and saying "that house is on fire or will be very shortly". It really is that obvious at this point.
Niniane| 12.21.11 @ 5:14PM
As soon as Kim Jong-il died, the NKs closed the border between themselves and China, the border crossings which brought in supplies. Perhaps to remain closed until the new year, starvation will be more prominent.
But what I noticed in all the videos of people crying with no tears, none of them look starved but I suppose if you are a good party member, you get all the goodies.
shipley130| 12.21.11 @ 5:28PM
With every food shipment, we are actually supporting the North Korean government. They don't tell the North Koreans that the food is from the USA, now do they. Of course, assuming that non government people actually get the food.
shipley130| 12.21.11 @ 5:50PM
The communists have had a long trend of people starving. North Korea is what happens when communists control the narrative. Are you listening, dear American parents?
Dipesto| 12.21.11 @ 6:49PM
KJil did do one thing praiseworthy for NK. According to Robert Pelton in one of his Dangerous Places books some Western useful idiot praised the Dear One for abolishing Flunkyism in NK.
Mike D.| 12.21.11 @ 9:31PM
And Jimmy Carter sent his condolences to Kim Jong Un. I never underestimated Jimmy's ability to kiss the @ss of any Anti-American murderous dictator. Jimmy, histories human roll of toilet paper.
Occam's Tool| 12.22.11 @ 3:42AM
Carter=Paul=Obama on foreign policy. All appeasers/grovellers/losers.
POST American| 12.21.11 @ 9:46PM
"One day, one day soon, we're going to
REALIZE Korea, and not the long gone
and done World Wars, was --the---pivotal
conflict of the 20th century -viz a viz the
21st."
The Globalist created Korea situtation,
like the Globalist installed, set up, empowered
RED China situation ----WAS our well-planned
downfall.
Had American forces been allowed to finish
the job in 1952, a FREE Korea would certainly
be there today.
RED China, even under the auspices of the
OSS installed MAO, would NOT have stood
the test ot time. The 'social engineering'
(ie MASS 'peacetime' exterminations)
would have been all but impossible to pull
off ----as in the also 'sealed-off' Soviet Union.
The Globalist cartel's hellbound kharma
around little Korea and thrice devastated
China is truly beyond calculation.
Even the calculating powers of the actuarial psychopaths.
But, have no fear --we'll be picking up the tab
anyway.
----------------HUAC/ Nuremberg 2012---------------
Bob Grant| 12.21.11 @ 10:29PM
I'm posting this because I'm sick and tired of reading the comments late at night and seeing time-and-time again seeing POST American getting the last word.
.....Done!
Nam Doc| 12.22.11 @ 9:16PM
If the NORKs attack the south, we should flatten them at once. And China too if they interfere. They understand only violence. You can't be polite to them with any success. Flatten then like Hiroshima. They'll get the idea.