My Two Yen

Truly it will be long before cursed war will be swept from the surface of the earth, for force seems to be the final court of appeal even in the private affairs between man and man.

Sorry for the dramatic opening, but I thought those words were fitting given the current state of things. Those words are not my own, of course, but were written in 1904 by Natsume Soseki in his first novel, Botchan. And here we are, just over a hundred years on. I wonder how things will be in another hundred years.

As of course you’re all aware, things are heating up in my neck of the woods. North Korea tested a nuke. World leaders are talking tough. Citizens are scared. Also, the media, in a somewhat alarmist fashion, have been talking about a north Asian arms race where Japan, supposedly, will respond by developing nuclear weapons of its own (apparently they could do this really fast!). This will then prompt China and South Korea to do the same. However, it is the response of the USA that has me far more worried. And I dare say I’m not the only one. With Captain Bush at the helm, who knows what will happen?

It is a surreal feeling to suddenly find yourself in a region that is coming under the ever-intensifying scrutiny of the U.S. Yes I know—the Korean peninsula has always been carefully monitored. But to hear US officials make comments along the lines of “At this stage we are not considering military action, though of course we leave all options on the table” does not exactly fill me with a sense of security.

The problem with North Korea, as I understand it, is that they are unpredictable. And yet somewhat paradoxically, they can be relied upon to ignore the wishes of the UN and the international community (Wait, that sounds like another country I know . . .). I guess the real problem with North Korea is that they belong to the wrong Axis—the dreaded Axis of Evil. They’re also a rogue state. And communist. That’s three strikes, isn’t it?

Time for some semantic masturbation: according to the Oxford English Dictionary a terrorist is a person who uses violence and intimidation in an attempt to achieve political aims. (It’s interesting to note that Webster’s online dictionary goes to much greater lengths to clear up the term for us, just to make sure that there is no confusion as to who the bad guys are--http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/terrorist) Let’s review our strategy in Iraq. Intimidation: check (Operation Shock & Awe?) Violence: check. Political aim: check (the completely altruistic goal of ousting Saddam). As for Al Qaeda and the like, they of course use intimidation and violence, but as far as a political aim is concerned, well if you listen to Bush, Blair, and Howard, their only aim is to terrorise us simply because they’re evil. Thus, by the reasoning of our own leaders, Al Qaeda do not fit the definition of terrorists. But like I said, I'm merely wanking with words, and a terrorist by any other name is still a terrorist, right?

If protecting America’s and the West’s interest’s means blowing up the rest of the world, is it any wonder that leaders like Kim Jong Il want to do all they can to get some deterrence. And doesn’t anyone else find it a bit rich that the country with the second largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and, let’s not forget, the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, is free to attack and condemn other countries for pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t exactly like the idea of a North Korea with nuclear weapons, especially given the history and the tensions between Japan and North Korea. But nor do I rejoice at the thought of a Texan cowboy (with the support of other world leaders), who believes he has a mandate from God, bringing to Asia the sort of peace and stability that he has given Afghanistan and Iraq.

In my opinion, valued at 2-Yen don’t forget, I don’t think the US will attack North Korea; at least not pre-emptively. I think the American people have had enough of war, and with the approaching election I don’t think Bush and Co. want to start another fight (am I being naïve?) So it is for these reasons that I remain cautiously optimistic.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with a quote from Jon Stewart: “Look at it this way: North Korea now has one less nuclear weapon.”