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Friday, June 27, 2008
Kaboom goes kaboom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Damn. My favorite milblog — Kaboom: A Soldier’s War Journal — has been ordered off the Internets by the U.S. Army, in its infinite wisdom. No further postings from the wise and witty Lt. G….
You can still go back and read previous postings, which I urge you to do. Those of us safe and stateside have an obligation to understand as best we can what we are asking these kids to do for us, and Kaboom offered a stylish, candid window into the soldier’s experience.
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The deal with North Korea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Samuel Johnson made the now politically incorrect observation that “a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”
I guess that’s how I feel about President Bush’s use of diplomacy to perhaps bring an end to North Korea’s nuclear program. He may not have done it with much style or grace, but the surprise is that he did it at all.
In the early years, Bush had rejected any suggestion of negotiating a deal with the North Koreans, as if talking to our enemies was an act of cowardice. Talk tough, that was the ticket. Make those Korean commies tremble in fear.
That bluster pretty much ended when North Korea exploded a semi-successful nuclear weapon, making it clear that they were less than impressed with macho posturing. After a whole lot of cajoling and convincing within the administration, the president agreed to a less confrontational, more conversational approach that is now bearing fruit.
There is no guarantee this approach will work. What the president announced yesterday was considerable progress toward an important goal, not achievement of the goal itself. But considerable progress is better than no progress or even backsliding, which is what the previous strategy had produced.
Dick Cheney has made it pretty clear he disagrees with this approach. He and others liked the tough-guy strategy because it felt right in their gut, because it confirmed their sense of themselves as moral, uncompromising warriors. OK, fine. Now — explain in a logical sequence how being tough will result in North Korea surrendering its nuclear program.
Silence. Followed by another protestation that “we have to be tough!”
Being tough is not a goal in itself. Being tough is a tactic that under the right circumstances can help you achieve your goal, but under other circumstances can be harmful. President Bush belatedly understands that now.
The agreement with North Korea is an accomplishment for the president, a hard-earned step toward making the world a safer place. But it is also a symbol of what might have been in other areas, including domestic politics, had he been willing to negotiate and compromise instead of try to steamroll.
