Bill's Excellent Adventure

Talk about a sight for sore eyes. Lisa Ling, one of the journalists freed by our ex-President:

"Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment we could be prisoners in a hard labor camp. Then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton."

Bill Clinton in North Korea. That must have been a great sight. It's not an American diplomat, it's not Bill Richardson, it's not Jesse Jackson, it's not even Hillary Clinton. Seeing Bill Clinton standing there would have been the strongest possible signal that they were being released. American power has reached into the hermit kingdom and is taking care of you.

Suddenly you remember what it is like to be a citizen of the most powerful country in the world. Sometimes we get things right.

It's great to remember that Bill Clinton, for all his faults, still knows how to use power for doing good, and that that's what a President of the United States is supposed to be there for.

Once upon a time I believed very strongly in Bill Clinton, and I know that I wasn't wrong, but every now and then it's nice to get a reminder of just what I believed in.

North Korea launches a rocket

North Korea launched a rocket today, provoking strong reactions from Japan, the US, and China, among others.

There are three reasons why North Korea has launched this rocket: 1) to test it and see if it actually works, 2) to let the rest of the world know that it has this capability, 3) to boost its own sense of honor and pride.

North Korea does not have much going for it. It's poor, backwards, and isolated. Even with troops tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US could still blow it to smithereens, particularly since we would have the help of South Korea. The only problem is that North Korea has nuclear weapons. We're just not sure about how good they are at delivering those weapons, i.e. via missile. That's why this test of a rocket is so scary - if the North Koreans are capable of delivering nuclear missiles hundreds or thousands of miles, they are an even more dangerous threat.

But Kim Jong-Il is not suicidal. If he launched a nuclear missile at Japan, the rest of the world would give the US, South Korea, and Japan carte blanche to wipe him off the map.

So why is he testing this missile? It's insurance. Kim Jong-Il feels threatened by the US and South Korea and Japan, precisely because we can wipe him off the map. He feels like nuclear weapons are his only protection.

But national pride has a role, as well. If North Korea can deliver nuclear weapons on missiles, it can demand a certain degree of respect. That respect comes from fear, but it's respect nonetheless.

The rest of the world has to walk a tightrope. On the one hand, North Korea represents a legitimate threat. On the other hand, the best way to defuse the tension with North Korea is to treat it with respect, but not deference. North Korea wants to be taken seriously. Of course, Kim Jong-Il also wants to stay in power in a system that keeps his country poor and backwards. This situation cannot be sustained forever. At some point, that contradiction - of a leader who wants to be powerful and respected, but keeps his people oppressed and poor - will be resolved. For now, the best thing the rest of the world can do is to keep him contained, without provoking him too much.

Japan demanded a UN resolution. That's a good idea, because it sends a strong signal, but, because it's more rhetorical than substantive, it's not TOO provocative.

Once again, this would be a good time not to panic.