William Safire, N. Korea: China's Child nytimes.com ( alternate link for the cookiephobic: abs-cbnnews.com )
Merry Christmas, Carl. Normally, I'd let this one slide, but there's evidence of an emerging party line on this particular episode. Safire can be independent at times, but my impression is that when he agrees with the official Republican party line of the moment, he's a pretty reliable conduit of insider thought. The emerging line seems to be to blame it all on everybody under the sun except W. Clinton, Carter, China, Russia, wimpy allies who won't get with the program, you name it, they all get dumped on here. China seems to get the brunt of it, though, sort of a quaint throwback to pre-9/11 days when they were the preferred new designated enemy in chief of the right on the international stage.
North Korea exists as a totalitarian state now threatening world peace only because China's army saved it from defeat by U.S. forces under a U.N. flag in the 1950's. Ever since, China has been the dark regime's main supporter. Today's rogue state of North Korea is China's child; Beijing cannot feign irrelevance.
The Bush administration has in the past year embraced China, overlooking its brutal Xinjiang crackdown, tolerating its espionage, ignoring its military buildup, smoothing its way to world trade, gobbling up its exports. But it's been a one-way street.
So let's see if we can pick a fight with China too, while we're at it. What the heck, they seem to have hexed us with this "interesting times" curse, we'll show 'em. Another area where W's got to make up for his father's alleged wimpitude, it seems. |
