Antagonizing North Korea is Bad Business

Reuters is reporting that "South Korean authorities have seized a Panama-flagged vessel suspected of transferring oil products to North Korea in violation of international sanctions, a customs official said on Sunday. The seizure was the second to be revealed by South Korea within a few days, as the United Nations steps up efforts to squeeze essential oil supplies to the reclusive North following its nuclear or ballistic missile tests." Was it from Venezuela?

Everyone realizes that North Korea is not a democracy and that Kim Jong Un is a lunatic but why provoke him? Why? Launching missiles and threatening the world is unacceptable. However, neither is provoking a conflict with him. Sanctions against North Korea are appropriate. Any country that disproves of his behavior is free to say we will no longer do business with you until you change your behavior. Yet no single nation has the right to say no on else is allowed to do business with you either. That crosses the line.

The Helms Burton Law imposing sanctions on Cuba was pretty draconian. Yet the Americans had every right to say we refuse to do business with you. Did they in turn have the right to say no one else does? No they did not. They had the right to say if you do business with Cuba we will not do business with you, but they did not have the right to board and seize other vessels who disagreed with their boycott of Cuba. That would have crossed the line.

Excessive sanctions against Germany after WWI caused WWII. Lest we forget.

Right now we are preparing for a world Olympics in South Korea. The United States do not have the right to destroy that event for the rest of the world. If they don't want to participate fine, stay home but don't deny everyone else the right to participate in that peaceful event because others disagree with your extremism. Communism is bad. The Americans did a great thing in supporting the Korean War. However, everything has it's time and place. Provoking war in a time of peace is not noble. Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God.

The world sees Donald Trump as a hillbilly. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Yes he was democratically elected but so was Hitler. Donald Trump is in a completely different league than a Communist dictator yet most of the world sees him as a lunatic to endure not a role model to follow. We can most certainly work with Trump but we obviously will not agree with him on every issue. That is our right in a free and democratic society.

North Korea has been invited to the Winter Olympics next month. They are welcome to attend along with Communist China who has a far worse human rights record that North Korea or Cuba combined. We cannot shun one and embrace the other. We disagree with their politics. That is our right. As long as they do not invade or impose their will on us, we can still do business with them and we can still be cordial to them at a peaceful world event.

The Iron Dome is in place. The venue is ready. Let the Games begin. Stop provoking conflict.