It's no wonder we follow sports as a diversion when reality, in this case North Korean reality, means starvation, repression, torture, infanticide, and the deaths of millions of innocents. Jeff Jacoby wonders how long we'll wait to act. And for the second time, this blog links to the Report of The U.S. Committee on Human Rights in North Korea , which describes "The Hidden Gulag" of Kim Jong Il.
Posted by dan at February 10, 2004 12:21 AMI tend to wonder exactly what Mr. Jacoby is going to personally do about this problem. Is he ready to enlist in the armed forces so he can put his money where his mouth is? I couldn't find a bio on him to find out if he's too old. The picture I found makes him look mid-thirties. Is he willing to send his sons or nephews on a military strike into North Korea? People who never served their country are always the first to call for military action when the crap hits the fan. I find it difficult to take anything a non-veteran has to say about war seriously.
I'm glad there are people trying to bring these atrocities to light. It turns my stomach to read those stories, just like anyone else. But unlike Mr. Jacoby and others like him, I have a friend who left his right arm in Iraq. He was leading a convoy that I would have been in, had I been allowed to stay at Camp Pendleton. Several men in my section have friends who didn't make it back from Iraq. I'm sure the list will grow before we eventually "win the peace." So I hope Mr Jacoby will understand if I'm not all fired up to forcibly oust every sadist dictator in the world. Unless, of course, his vague call to "take action" is referring to more UN sanctions and continued withholding of MFN status.
I didn't think so.
Posted by: Al at February 11, 2004 07:48 AM