A Foreign Enemy is a Tyrant’s Best Friend

The recent Iran nuclear deal represents a thaw in the American cold war against that country. It is a welcome sequel to the Obama administration’s partial normalization with Cuba announced late last year. Hardliners denounce these policies as “going soft” on theocracy...

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Infantilizing North Korea

Political Cartoonists love to portray North Korea as an irrational and infantile force. It’s either a baby with a nuclear rattle or a little truant in need of a timeout. The relative youth of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, encourages such...

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Breaking Out the Bush Playbook on Korea

In the current crisis on the Korean peninsula, the Obama administration is virtually repeating the 2004 Bush playbook, one that derailed a successful diplomatic agreement forged by the Clinton administration to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. While...

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Is War With North Korea Inevitable?

"If you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you," said Calvin Coolidge, who ever counseled patience over the rash response. Unfortunately, the troubles presented by North Korea's Kim Jong Un seem...

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Behind the US-North Korean Bluster

What’s happening between the U.S. and North Korea to produce such headlines in recent days as “Korean Tensions Escalate,” and “North Korea Threatens U.S.”? The New York Times reported, “This week, North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jung-un, ordered his underlings to...

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Explaining North Korea

While North Korea's rhetoric is routinely over-the-top, the propagandists of the ruling Korean Workers Party have really outdone themselves this time. Declaring that the North is now in "a state of war" with the South, they have produced a video supposedly depicting...

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Rodmania in North Korea

Sometimes the common man--or not so common man, such as basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman--can teach elite media, politicians, and diplomats a thing or two. The media largely billed Rodman’s visit to North Korea to see its young leader as "bizarre," or...

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