An International Failure.

The artillery bombing of South Korea by its belligerent neighbour to the north is just the latest in a long line of North Korea's blatant disregard for international law. It has been referred to as “one of the worst clashes since the Korean War ended”. It appears as though, in any practical sense, the war did not end. North Korea, still under the charge of Chairman Kim Jong-il, has acted like a petulant child in the face of the international community and particularly in the face of South Korea.

One question that needs to be asked by the democracies of the world is this: how long will this be allowed to continue? How many more sanctions will the United States or the United Nations place on North Korea without actually being firm? Are the sanctions working? Clearly not. The North Korean people are still being horribly oppressed on a regular basis and yet the international community does nothing of any substance.

Is the shelling of a constitutional democracy not enough for action to be taken? The White House said that the United States was “firmly committed” to defending South Korea, yet continues to do nothing.

Kim Jong-il cannot be reasoned with, despite how inconvenient that is to policy makers. There is never much elapsed time before his government or military acts in a foolish and dangerous manner. The fact that an absolute dictatorship still stands is a disgrace. The world will not even have the chance to breathe a sigh of relief when Kim Jong-il dies, as his son is poised to take up the mantle of power.

The North Korean people are in a situation in which everything that is not forbidden is compulsory. It may be a cliché to draw a parallel between North Korea in 2010 and Airstrip One of 1984 but it is unavoidable. Orwell's classic novel is referenced so often by people in the West as a shorthand for their perception of government intrusion, which has only served to diminish the impact of its comparison when such a comparison is appropriate. That is exactly the case with North Korea. What we have is as close as it is possible to get to a living, breathing embodiment of what Orwell depicted, yet comparisons are rendered meaningless.

North Korea should not be allowed to remain as it is. People are still lamenting the fact that nothing was done in the cases of Rwanda and Dafur. Will North Korea make it onto the list of examples of when action was only taken when it was too late? From current evidence it appears to be a safe bet.

A Total Loss of Perspective.

Former United States President George W. Bush is back in the public eye. He is doing the media rounds to promote his memoir Decision Points (an uninspiring title to say the least) in which he discusses his Presidency. While I have not read this memoir I think I am on safe ground when I say that if Mr. Bush has had a hand in writing this memoir (as opposed to going through a ghost writer) it probably will not be the most engaging read. Whereas the current President is an accomplished writer (if you have not yet read Dreams from My Father, I would highly recommend it for its candidness and eloquence), Bush has never been known for his command of English. So, on a purely literary basis at least, the memoir does not really generate much interest for me.

Having said that, however, a first hand account of one of the most formative and influential presidencies of the last several decades could prove a worthwhile read until you take into account the self promoting, self aggrandizing nature of a political memoir. Obviously, he will try to spin each major event of his presidency in order to present himself in the best light. That is to be expected of any politician, regardless of ideology.One very small aspect of this memoir and Bush's subsequent media appearances has really resonated with me recently. He has gone on the record saying that the worst moment of his presidency was when rapper Kanye West accused him of being racist in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Seriously, Mr. President? The worst moment of your presidency? This is a presidency which oversaw 9/11. The single biggest terrorist attack in American history. Nearly 3,000 dead. The New York skyline amputated. There are still Americans alive today who are suffering the effects of that attack. That was not as bad as being called a racist? This is a presidency in which you were loudly and roundly accused from a huge swath of people of being a liar, an election thief, a genocidal war criminal and an advocate of torture. How can being accused of such atrocious things be preferable to one self important rapper calling you a racist?

I do not want to come off sounding like I am unfairly attacking President Bush. In the interest of honesty I have to admit that a vast majority of what Bush did in office (the unnecessary tax cut for the rich, turning a national surplus into the biggest deficit in U.S. history, the faith based initiatives, the poor response to Hurricane Katrina, Guantanamo Bay, waterboarding, the politicization of the justice department, outing Valerie Plame etc.) I disagree with. I also disagree with his rationalizations for regime change in Iraq when there were far better reasons available to him. His support of the secular forces in the Middle East is to be commended. Iraq is, slowly, moving towards becoming a functioning democracy. Whether it gets there or not remains to be seen but this outcome would not be possible were Saddam Hussein still in power.

On balance, I would say that President Bush was not a good president. A lot of the damage his administration has done is still being felt and will continue to be for years to come. With all of this responsibility laying at his feet, the fact that he honestly regards the accusation of racism by Kanye West to be his presidency's worst moment is, frankly, astounding.