Is Korean/American History Repeating Itself?

By now, chances are everyone in America knows that North Korea is up to no good. (Everyone except liberals: "There are none so blind as those who will not see.") I don't know about you, but North Korea's making me pretty nervous.

I've never liked North Korea. North Korea, China, Russia, Cuba, and please welcome Iran (, the newest member,) are all countries that aren't high on my list of favorite countries, mostly because all except maybe Iran are Communist countries, and I have about as much use for Communism as my European ancestors had for the Bubonic Plague.

Several weeks ago, an article about North Korea planning to launch a "satellite" came to my attention. It interested me because as I read the comments from N. Korea, I noticed they were just getting more and more shrill: "We're going to launch a satellite, and if you blow it up, that will be an act of war. If you blow our satellite up, we'll declare war on you!" And on and on it went, getting more and more shrill. So I read it and sat in my chair, thinking, "Okay, you're up to something. I don't know what it is, but you're up to something." And wouldn't you know, they were.

Time passed, and it went from "satellite" to rocket. And, by the way, the first one has been launched. Rumor has it that there are three rockets, but I can't deny or confirm that...yet.

North Korea shot off its rocket tonight at 10:30 EST.FOX News reported:

North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.

Liftoff took place at 10:30 p.m. EDT Saturday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean government said. In Washington, the State Department also confirmed the launch.

"We look on this as a provocative act," U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said.The rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese broadcaster NHK said, citing its government.

That stern finger wagging by President Obama didn't seem to deter them much, did it?

But wait, it gets better. North Korea launches rocket, D'Obama decides everyone in the world should disarm, starting with America. Oh, by the way Mr. Lash, are you going to do anything about this provocative act? I didn't think so. Here's a hint: The dictator of N. Korea could really care less what the U.N. has to say. But I digress; back to NObama:

Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and said the United States has a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to use them.

Ummm, What the crap? "N. Korea fired a rocket. Quick! We have to hurry! Pull out! Pull Out!!" That's actually how China's in the mess it's in, but I'll get to that in a minute. Let's continue:

“Now is the time for a strong international response, and North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons,” Obama said to a crowd estimated at 20,000 in the cobblestone square at the elegant Prague Castle, in what was the largest audience of his five-country, eight-day swing.

“All nations must come together to build a stronger, global regime. And that's why we must stand shoulder to shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.”

Oh yeah, 'cause that worked so well the first time we tired it. I refer to the first quote in this blog post: "North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch." I don't think Kim Jong Il's feelin' the pressure.

Now, let's look at the Korean War. This often overshadowed by World War II, before it, and the Vietnam War, after it. And apparently, it wasn't actually a war, and least not from the American viewpoint:

In North Korea, while commonly known as the Korean War, it is formally called the Joguk haebang jeonjaeng or Fatherland Liberation War (Hangul: 조국해방전쟁; Hanja: 祖國解放戰爭). In the United States, the conflict was officially termed a police action — the Korean Conflict — rather than a war, largely in order to avoid the necessity of a declaration of war by the U.S. Congress.

Strange. I'm used to "Korean War" instead of "Korean Conflict", so I will be referring to it as a war. I got out my history book and looked this up, and found it pretty interesting, if not with some scary comparisons. Here's the shortened, paraphrased version.

(The president when the Korean War happened was the Democrat Harry Truman.) After WWII, Korea was divided with the north half controlled by Russia and the south half controlled by America. Both countries were supposed to let the Koreans establish their own government in a unified country, but the U.S. and Russia didn't trust each other.

The United States set up a democracy in South Korea, and the Communists Russians set up a puppet Communist government over in N. Korea. Meanwhile, over in China, the Nationalists (the good guys) were fighting the Chinese Communists in attempt to take control of China. A U.S. general went over to try and negotiate peace between the groups, but that didn't happen. Dissatisfied, the general recommended that U.S. troops be withdrawn from China. Without U.S. support, the Nationalists were overwhelmed, and were forced to escape to the island of Taiwan. (Remember this fact; Taiwan will reappear later.)

With China and N. Korea controlled by Commies, South Korea was in trouble. The brilliant U.S. State Department decided to appease and contain Communists (Because that worked so well when dealing with Hitler.) Finally, the Secretary of State said the U.S. would protect the Philippines and Japan but wouldn't get involved on the Asian mainland.

Sure, just hand the Commies an invitation. But that was what the Commies saw, and they took it, and invaded S. Korea on June 25, 1950. N. Korea went in after S. Korea.

Now, look. This was tried prior to WWII, when dealing with Hitler. Appease, appease, appease, contain, contain, contain. It was used with Nazism (which is just an extension of Communism.) Hitler wanted part of Czechoslovakia; France and Britain negotiated with the Czechs and gave it to him. He claimed it would be his last conquest; one bloody war later....

History lessons one and two:

1) Never try to appease Communists.
2) Never trust a Communist.

Now back to Korea. Appeasing the Communists by pulling out didn't work. The United Nations demanded N. Korea stop; N. Korea (surprise, surprise) ignored them. The Commies made it all the way to Seoul before the U.N. finally did something. By July 1st, the U.S. Army was back in Korea under the command of General MacArthur. S. Korea, the U.N., and America were still outnumbered. Finally, MacArthur moved part of his forces up near Seoul, cut the N. Korean supply lines, and then recombined the army and basically overran the place.

This alarmed the People's Republic of China Communism, who immediately sent 300,000 soldiers to help N. Korea. The U.N. troops were pushed back, but before MacArthur could carry out his next plan of attack, Truman replaced him with a different general.

See, MacArthur wanted a complete victory. He didn't just want to appease and contain. Truman didn't want an all-out confrontation with Communism. The Chinese Nationalists offered to come help South Korea, and he sent American ships to prevent them from leaving Taiwan. Technically, the Korean War may not be over, since all that came from it was a truce and not a peace treaty.

Now, look. Here's my point. Do you see what Truman did? He wanted to appease and contain, not eliminate the problem. Obama wants to appease and contain, not confront N. Korea. He's as much as said it. Obama would rather pressure N. Korea to stop, and that didn't work. The United Nations is worth nothing. They have no power, and can do nothing.

Obama thinks America ought to disarm to inspire N. Korea to do the same. Really? Does this idiot remember America has these things called 'enemies'? And they want us dead? Freedom is a bane to Communism, and I cite the Berlin wall to back that. Russia built that wall to keep people from escaping to freedom.

North Korea seems to be itching to start something. The question is, will Obama do anything about it? The American people seem to want something done. Obama, however, doesn't seem to feel that way.

We know Obama lacks the will to use the military for pro-active measures (like securing American interests abroad), but did he even bother with defense? The U.S. has developed a missile defense shield to protect ourselves and our allies from precisely this sort of attack, but one of the key pieces of that defense -- an extremely powerful radar system -- was floating idly at Pearl Harbor. I'm sure our ally Japan really appreciated our help as North Korea's missile rocketed straight toward it.

I hope our allies will forgive us for what Obama has done. Is it to much to ask that we at least intimidate N. Korea with a show of strength? There's also this thing called a "preemptive strike."
North Korea doesn't care what the U.N. says. Communists don't play by the rules. So why does Obama insist that the rest of us play by the rules? Ace of Spades put it pretty well:

After Obama acknowledges that the N. Koreans ignored UN Resolutions, he calls on the N. Koreans to abide by them. This is smart and tough diplomacy?

That is a rhetorical question. I hope no one gets hurt while Obama flubs his way through foreign policy.

Begun 4-5-09
Ended 4-6-09