Everything to Mr. Bush is black or white. We’ve been fed absolutes from Bush
and his bunch ever since 9/11. You’re either with us or against us. If we don’t
kill them over there the terrorists are coming over here to kill us in our beds
while we sleep. Then there’s that old classic the axis of evil. North Korea
is one of those axis countries. So I found it interesting when I saw the Bush
administration had given the North Koreans a pass on shipping arms to Ethiopians,
because the latter is helping us out with our Horn of Africa problem,
and after all they need the cheap weaponry and parts. Evidently, George has discovered the
color of gray.
Three months after the United States successfully pressed the United Nations
to impose strict sanctions on North Korea because of the country’s nuclear
test, Bush administration officials allowed Ethiopia to complete a secret
arms purchase from the North, in what appears to be a violation of the restrictions,
according to senior American officials.The United States allowed the arms delivery to go through in January in part
because Ethiopia was in the midst of a military offensive against Islamic
militias inside Somalia, a campaign that aided the American policy of combating
religious extremists in the Horn of Africa.American officials said that they were still encouraging Ethiopia to wean
itself from its longstanding reliance on North Korea for cheap Soviet-era
military equipment to supply its armed forces and that Ethiopian officials
appeared receptive. But the arms deal is an example of the compromises that
result from the clash of two foreign policy absolutes: the Bush administration’s
commitment to fighting Islamic radicalism and its effort to starve the North
Korean government of money it could use to build up its nuclear weapons program.
Now just imagine if a Democratic president had done this very thing. Do you
have that picture in your mind? Good. Now imagine what you’d hear on wingnut
radio if this occurred under a President Obama or Edwards or Clinton… or Biden
or Richardson, etc. Rush would go into his flopping fish routine and Hannity
would blow his Howdy Doody hair do. Then the outrage would be force fed to us
all day, with emphasis coming later on Fox "News."
It is also not the first time that the Bush administration has made an exception
for allies in their dealings with North Korea. In 2002, Spain intercepted
a ship carrying Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen. At the time, Yemen
was working with the United States to hunt members of Al Qaeda operating within
its borders, and after its government protested, the United States asked that
the freighter be released. Yemen said at the time that it was the last shipment
from an earlier missile purchase and would not be repeated.American officials from a number of agencies described details of the Ethiopian
episode on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal
Bush administration deliberations.(snip)
American officials insist that they are keeping up the pressure on Ethiopia.
While Ethiopia has not provided an ironclad assurance that it will accept
no more arms shipments from North Korea, it has told the United States that
it will look for other weapons suppliers.
The color of gray is very familiar to me, so I’m realistic when dealing with
the world as it is, not as I would remake it through preemption. But I’m not
the one posturing on the world stage Bush is. Not talking to Syria. Giving Pelosi
hell for doing her job. Ignoring Iran. Pushing North Korea away for years then getting the same
deal we could have gotten from the beginning. I don’t know about you but this
dart board method of foreign policy decision making doesn’t impress me at all.
I like the results and the long-term ramifications even less.
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