Peter, you said that (with respect to NK), you thought "Doggon Cowboy Diplomacy was working", and I said I saw no evidence for that.
I say again: no public evidence yet that DIPLOMACY is 'working' (i.e., achieving our goals...), but I DO AGREE with you about certain extra-diplomatic actions that are having beneficial effects:
Slamming the Macao bank that was handling money laundering of their counterfeit 'super bills'. (Even *more effective* might be blowing up the NK mint that prints their currency --- if we could be sure of getting the plates. After all, massive counterfeiting of another nation's sovereign currency is an ACT OF WAR, IMO.)
So, some progress in that one regard, but much more needed....
Also would be useful to cut off ALL multinational aid to the NK regime (all the food aid, free heating oil, etc.) Certainly not a drop more from us.
Japan seems to be edging toward that position, the cutting off of their direct aid to NK --- but by far the LARGEST AMOUNT of direct aid going to the North comes from SK... and we do not control that. They will have to make up their own minds about the utility of that.
Also quite useful would be to intercept NK shipping on the high seas, and inspect their cargoes for illegal weapons exports of counterfeit currencies.
(Again... not a very 'diplomatic' action, that.) |
