Marsh Reader On North Korea

Democrat Taylor Marsh Blogs Politics: "I know everyone is clamoring about North Korea, but I think TM readers have it right. Here's what reader John had to say:

Does anybody really believe that Kim Jong-Il would ever attack the U.S. with an ICBM? An ICBM with a glaring signature saying that it came from him, which would incur a massive retaliatory strike from us that would totally destroy North Korea? This guy is strange, but not that strange. He is enjoying his life very much with all the beautiful young Korean girls that he wants, all the western movies that he indulges in, and the adoration of his starving masses. Why would he want to commit suicide? The answer is he wouldn’t. He is posturing for negotiating points. He is not a Muslim ascetic longing for martyrdom. The same with Iran. Does anybody really think that Iran would send an ICBM at Israel, which would also kill Palestinians, Lebanese, and Jordanians, depending on how the prevailing winds took the fallout? The Israeli retaliatory strike, along with ours, would utterly destroy the country of Iran. Do you think that the Mullahs all want to commit suicide? They are enjoying their power and all the amenities that come with it. The threat is not an ICBM from Korea or Iran; it is the nuclear, biological, or chemical package in the odd container on a cargo ship coming into one of our unguarded ports. Or across the Canadian or Mexican border in a back pack or vehicle. Bush’s so-called ABM shield is a joke. It has never had a successful test. The only time it hit an incoming test missile is when they put a homing device on the missile, with no decoys to worry about. I’ll bet our missile defense teams breathed a big sigh of relief that they didn’t have to fire off one of Bush’s ABM’s at the N. Korean missile. What an embarrassment that would have been. If Bush would spend money on port, rail, and border security instead of wasting money on phony ABM systems that don’t work, we might feel a little more secure. Get rid of those tax cuts to the rich and we’ll have some funds to address our real security problems, to say nothing of our real domestic problems. - Reader John

First, let's understand that we got in the mess we're in with North Korea and Iran because the Republicans don't do national security STRATEGY. They do national security election CAMPAIGNS. They also react, usually incorrectly and in a knee jerk manner, but that's the way conservatives see foreign policy. It's a tool to power, not a way to negotiate in a global community. There is no long-term goal or thought processes at all, except to try and sell Star Wars yet again, never mind that it mimics the North Korean's flaccid launch. . ."