First Strike: Clinton's War Game

Seeing and hearing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first public appearance in that new role elicited all sorts of ugly and wretched emotions within me. Once thought forever defeated, President Obama's appointment of Clinton to this crucial position dashed hopes of peace and reinstated the fervor of what journalist Justin Raimondo calls the "War Party" with all the licivious passion as before.

In her first foreign trip as head Secretary of State, Clinton spent her first media whirl in a dazed groggy stupor exhorting statements about a country and culture she knows little about. Perhaps a short modern history of American involvement in Korea since World War II would do her and her policies some good. Ripped apart by a bloody and unnecessary politically-driven Civil War, two world empires converged on Korea after WWII, ultimately ending in the deaths of 3 million people. Since its inconclusive end in 1953, South Korea has endured nearly 60 years of U.S. military occupation (essentially as an American colony) and North Korea lasted the same amount of an even more oppressive regime of Communist Party rule.

However, these details mean little to Clinton or President Obama's foregin policy team. After all, with war hawk staffers like Richard Perle (so-dubbed "The Dark Knight") and the stern fisted George Mitchell (whose peace talks with Israel over Gaza were a mere farce) what real change can America expect?

Clinton, America's top diplomat, opened her mouth this week not to chart a new course of friendship and peace among fellow nations for the future, but rather to give a stark and largely unneeded ultimatum against a nuclear armed petty world power.

Clinton forcefully stated in all the boring bellowing of her naive conceded voice that "The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward." The tone of a bully is easily noticeable. Clinton is opening up sores that have already began to heal. While North Korea halted its nuclear testing under pressure from the Bush Administration and now proceeds with more careful approach to nuclear weapons, Clinton almost begs Kim Jong Il to open up a new arms race. Speaking in Tokyo, her neoconservative agenda played to Japan's steady militarization, a country noted as a partner in the everlasting War on Terror. Japan's U.S.-drafted Constitution strictly forbids the use of a military other than for direct self defense on the islands.

And when was it that North Korea was threatening to launch missiles on Japan or on America's soil? It seems that Clinton is simply staking out her future battles and laying the groundwork for a cross-course collision that could make the world all the more a scarier place.

North Korea has gradually been showing signs to "open up" to the neighbors to the south. In recent years, they have increasingly accepted South Korean economic aid as well as foodstuffs to their starving and economically depressed population. As dissatisfaction with communism continues, it appears only a matter of time before Korea could be reunited. However, the Communist Party and Kim Jong Il must fall first, and Clinton appears to want to embolden their 56 year power hold on the country. For a presidential candidate that attempted to play the "peace card" while acting tough, Clinton in her first assignment did not do a good job. Rather than heal ill feelings and push for diplomatic relations worthy of note, Clinton seems more interested in entrenching divisions and putting peace on hold.