Act of War?

Two American journalists recently captured and freed by North Korea claim that a guide led them across the river briefly from China into North Korea. Once they realized their mistake, they returned to China but were "violently dragged" back to North Korea by soldiers and imprisoned.

Technically two nations should howl in outrage at this behavior. The United States should immediately shut down any communications between the two governments and disavow any positive statements made by former President Bill Clinton. The freeze ought to be palpable and immediate. A gangster government responded to Obama's Apology Tour by kidnapping US citizen journalists and extorting favorable treatment from our country.

China should punish this small, but real incursion into this territory by North Korean soldiers through economic sanctions or military action. I have more faith in China's ability to focus its wrath on this outcast regime than I do in Obama. Likely, this matter will go under the rug. China will fins a way to quietly punish while the US may protest, if that, and let matters lie.


The lack of American reaction will embolden terrorists again, just as our demonstrations of weakness in the past provoked 9/11.

Bill Clinton Picks Up Two Women in North Korea

Former President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea to secure the release of two journalists. Those journalists work for Clintons former Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV network. They had been taken captive by North Korean and held as spies.

It is great that their release was secured as the charges against them were bogus at best. This was nothing more than a political ploy by the North Korean’s to gain legitimacy on the world stage. Having a former US President visit North Korea they were handed that legitimacy. This was another foreign policy mistake by the Obama administration.

This could have been handled better. The person that should have gone was former Vice President Al Gore. This should have appeased the North Korean’s somewhat, but at the same time given deniability to the Obama administration. Al Gore is their boss and he would have been simply negotiating the release of his employees and not legitimizing the rouge regime in North Korea.

The missteps and soft handedness of the Obama administration dealing with dictators that routinely kill their own people shows the administrations naivety. Obama must take a hard line with evil in the world. He should follow in the footsteps of Winston Churchill and step out of the shoes of Neville Chamberlain.

Presidential Candidate? You Betcha!

I like Sarah Palin. She brings a fresh and honest approach to national politics that appeals to many people who do not live within 100 miles of blue water. However her decision to resign as Governor of Alaska is truly mystifying.

One ought to run for president based upon what they have done. We have seen very clearly what happens when the people elect a celebrity rather than a person of substance. Substance comes from accumulating years of experience in a position of trust and responsibility. Experience and accomplishment transforms one from a political preacher to the choir to someone that can reach a broader audience who might not generally agree with you.

Few occupations prepare one for the presidency more than two terms as governor of a state. Sarah Palin as state governor had the ability to speak to the burdens that Obama's failed policies place upon her state, its people, and its industry. She could also complain that the empty policy towards North Korea placed her state in the line of fire of that country's nuclear arsenal. Alaska was purchased by Secretary of State William Seward (Republican of course) as a strategic asset. Did she not understand the politically strategic position she used to enjoy? The media didn't like her, but as a state governor they had to pay attention to her. Unfortunately by shedding her position of responsibility, she will be pushed farther into the realm of celebrity and farther away from serious politics. That is not my wish, but it is the way of the media world.

I can understand that she felt that she was trying to sit on two stools balancing her ambition to be president with her job as Alaska governor. In spending too much time in the lower forty-eight, she was losing the allegiance of the people in her own state. It was an honest decision made by an honest person and that in itself is respectable, even if I see it as unwise and missing a huge opportunity.

In such a situation, the aspiring president should cut back on the campaigning and continue proving in their work that they ought to be trusted at the next level. Sarah Palin has only given more ammunition to her critics and that is unfortunate. Winning the GOP nomination means convincing Republicans. We have a different standard than Democrats in expecting a candidate to bring a resume to the table. They nominated a man for president strictly based upon the fact that he could read in a pretty voice.

Like I said, I like Sarah Palin. I just do not see how quitting her job to be a full time candidate will help her ambitions.

Could Sarah Palin Offer a Radical Solution to North Korea?

North Korea now has missiles capable of reaching Alaska. Their promises to arm them with nuclear weapons ought to chill every American.

Democrats spent more time waging war against those trying to open Alaska's resources than discussing national security. Now that President Bush is gone, North Korea has no fear of America.

Here's a radical idea. In the absence of a presidential concern over US security, perhaps a governor in an emergency can step up.

Assuming that the Alaska Air National Guard has the capability, it ought to adopt its own contingency plan. Should North Korea continue to menace the United States, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin should adopt a plan to take control of the Alaska National Guard and launch attacks on North Korean facilities.

Sounds very extreme, but who ever anticipated a president who would dither in the face of such a threat. I am not advocating an attack now, but simply for Governor Palin to plan for the possibility that an emergency could happen and Obama not respond.

Constitutionally Governor Palin could face no federal punishment as far as I know for this sort of action. She does, however, have the obligation to defend lives and property.

After all if several oil wells are a threat to Alaska's fragile ecosystem, imagine an atomic bomb.

Solution to North Korea Is All Too Simple: Send In the B 52s

Yup. Have them sing "Loveshack" for two weeks straight. Much more effective than UN sanctions, but could be criticized by Amnesty International as torture.

No, honestly this is a no brainer. North Korea has launch facilities, missiles that can hit Alaska, and nuclear weapons. All of this stuff is extremely expensive and takes a lot out of North Korea's budget.

First, send the 7th Fleet to thirteen miles off of the coast of the Korean Peninsula and move some of our strategic air fleet to Guam. In flight refueling makes this unnecessary, but the action should have an impact on North Korea's thinking. They play brinkmanship diplomacy, but also have a survival instinct. IF and only IF they believe that the United States is serious with these moves, then they will start to play ball. Raise the stakes, threaten their survival, but leave them a way out of the corner, and they will come to you.

Playing nicey nice with enemies only works when they respect and fear you. They feared George W. Bush because they knew that with him, the military option always remained on the table. As former Secretary of State George Schultz said, war should never be the last resort. If it is, do not let your enemies know that. Nations feared Bush, and in turn respected the US. No one fears Obama.

The next to last resort would be a massive bombing campaign to wipe out North Korea's launch facilities. If their military moves a muscle, annihilate it, too. If they launch an invasion, bring back the draft, have the automakers build hundreds of tanks, and call it an old school stimulus plan.

We remain the same darned country that beat Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the resources of millions of square miles of conquered territory. When North Korea has the ability to strike Alaska, we need to start acting like Americans. Otherwise we risk destabilization of the Far East and a catastrophic chain of events.

Words Fail Us

Words failed us.

Not four months after Obama took office, his diplomacy of apologies starts to bear fruit. He and his secretary of state felt compelled to apologize for the United States so bluntly and brutally enforcing international law and ruffling the feathers of Europeans that traded with murderous monsters such as Saddam Hussein.

Now Iran has weapons grade materials. North Korea has exploded nuclear devices and launched more test missiles.

These developments drastically increase the chance that terrorists will get a device to explode in Tel Aviv, Madrid, or New York City. They also heighten the possibility that Iran or North Korea will try to bully their neighbors or even launch against the United States.

Obama will talk and try to get at the real problem through negotiation. I remember that Bush talked too. Then he acted. Bush's actions convinced Libya to abandon their nuclear program and join the community of peaceful nations. We didn't even threaten them. Bush leaves office and now the kiddies can come out and play with reckless abandon. Of course also on Obama's watch a known nuclear power is falling dangerously close to collapsing in the face of the Taliban.

The issue is bigger than just nukes. If Pakistan goes Taliban, India will be frightened and may take action. We can rest assured that Israel will act against Iran. North Korean belligerence scares Japan. If Japan rearms that provokes China, which could cause a chain reaction of fear and arming throughout Asia. American power and firm resolve have kept a lid on all of this for some time. Now that we have a president who does not even have the resolve to fill the jobs in the Executive Branch, the world is in a little more peril.

The Brilliance of President George W. Bush

It's not fashionable to say it, even amongst the conservatives who voted for him. The truth is inescapable, though. When it comes to foreign policy and bolstering American credibility in the world, President Bush and his administration have performed brilliantly.

After eight years of mollycoddling by Bill Clinton, President Bush's unabashedly aggressive policies worked like a bucket of ice water on a soundly sleeping child. Europe especially had to wake up and recognize the new sheriff in town. President Bush after 9/11 then named the three most wanted malefactors against world peace. His "Axis of Evil" address offended the sensibilities of liberals and professional diplomats in the same manner as President Reagan's "Evil Empire" analogy. In the long run, this kind of labeling when applied to rogue regimes is difficult to shake.

President Bush in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrated American resolve. Bill Clinton issued threats just as when the National Weather Service issues a thunderstorm threat. It may or may not come. President Bush along the same line issued warnings; in other words the storm is coming.

The world got used to an America ready to defend the interests of real peace and it responded. Anti-American governments fell in nations such as Germany and France despite the fact that the world press labeled the people as literally hating the United States. Perhaps they understand better than academics and the press who the real threat is. Meanwhile some states such as Libya abandoned their previous policies of seeking WMDs and supporting terror. Palestinian terror has dropped significantly since its major benefactor Saddam Hussein was expelled from power. Vietnam sought a partnership with the US against Islamic terror.

Dominoes continue to fall. Europe backed out of any support of Iran as its frightened president turned up the rhetorical heat. North Korea negotiated its way out of the Axis of Evil by succumbing to regional pressure led by the US. Now Iran stands virtually alone, even Chavez has not been his usual boisterous self lately. All this has happened quietly without a lot of saber rattling by the US. Once we proved that we would act, the rest of the world friend or foe knows they can count on American resolve.

Had Congress listened to the president's wishes domestically, our position would be even stronger. Imagine if we had followed President Bush's wishes from his first months in office when he warned us about upcoming energy shortages. We could be almost self-sufficient if we would only tap our own sources. His only flaw has been his inability to sell his policies in the same manner as Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan. This reflects a businesslike mentality in the White House, but the result has been an electorate easily convinced by emotional appeals from his opponents.

At the end of the day, the Bush foreign policy has worked miraculous change. Europe stands with an aggressive United States. Even moderate anti-war activists have to accept the fact that the United States has almost succeeded in Iraq. Iran stands alone without support from any of its previous benefactors. Japan, Britain, and Australia stand with us as firmly as ever.

Hats off to President George W. Bush, a president who was not afraid to act and who has given the world real solutions rather than band aids.