Unforeseen Contingencies

New York Times is convinced it is time to surrender, it appears.  Unforeseen Contingencies thinks differently.

North Korea has sentenced an American citizen, Bae Joon-ho, to 15 years hard labor for "hostile acts" against the nation. The trial lasted all of a day, and no doubt met the usual standards of fairness typical of communist jurisprudence. It's very likely that his "crime" was engaging in Christian mission work.

Here's how New York Times headlined this in their afternoon email update:

North Korea's Sentencing of American Puts U.S. in a Bind

By CHOE SANG-HUN

To which "we" at Unforeseen Contingencies can only reply "yeah, right."

Sometimes the apparent helplessness and lack of courage of the "progressives" is hard to fathom.  North Korea has us "in a bind?"  My first reaction at seeing how NYT is framing this was to think of the following response the U.S. could give.  Barack Obama could announce, publicly, that the United States is giving Kim Jong-un 24 hours to release Mr. Bae.  Otherwise, starting 24 hours from now, each day the North Koreans keep Bae in custody, the United States will sink a North Korean merchant vessel on the high seas or in North Korean waters.  And if the North Koreans kill or otherwise harm him, we will sink every North Korean merchant vessel on the high seas or in North Korean waters, and if they ever get a new one we'll sink it, too.  We don't care what Jong-un says, if he likes he can denounce Bae and the U.S. in the strongest terms and claim it is from his from magnanimity that Bae is released -- but release him or else.  Jong has 167 days.

Of course, this would require that the United States had a president who was not a dithering coward.  Unfortunately, Barack "chemical weapons are a red line!" Obama seems to be an utterly helpless man who loves to make big pronouncements but has a difficult time making any real policy decision, especially if it is at all hard.  But at least Obama didn't surrender (yet).  And there might be better responses than UC's proposed response; the United States are very strong and North Korea very weak. But the NYT's position that "we are in a bind" and perhaps should send Jimmy Carter to apologize -- good grief.  That's more pathetic than Obama himself!

Update 6 May: President Park of South Korea is on a similar page: "North Korea engages in provocations, threats. This is followed by negotiations and assistance. ... it's time for us to put an end to that cycle."  Let's hope she can put some backbone into America's campaigner-in-chief.