Monthly Archives: June 2010

North Korea may well have sunk the Cheonan, as concluded by the South Korean military-led investigative team. But meetings with some of my colleagues who have extensive experience in that part of the world, can best be summarized by what one of them said to me: “The evidence presented by the LAPD in the O. J. Simpson trial was so bungled that more was needed to convict. Roughly the same is true of the South Korean military’s indictment of North Korea in the sinking of the Cheonan.” Continue reading →

Calling nuclear deterrence by that name was a stroke of marketing genius for selling it to the public. Unfortunately, that stroke of genius was also a potential death sentence for us all by hiding another, more ominous aspect of this strategy. Continue reading →

My last post detailed allegations that North Korea might be innocent in the sinking of the Cheonan and was being framed. The South Korean Defense Ministry responded with an article that claims to rebut these suspicions, but I found nothing dealing with the five most serious allegations, repeated here for completeness: Continue reading →

In the court of American public opinion, North Korea has been declared guilty of sinking the Cheonan and the only question is what sentence to impose on the rogue nation that committed this reckless act. While there is evidence for that perspective, would it be adequate in a court of law? And is it adequate to take actions that could lead to a Korean War, especially one that could go nuclear? Recent developments, while far from clearing North Korea, raise at least reasonable doubt. Continue reading →

Years ago, when one of my daughters was three years old, she had her hand in the cookie jar just before dinner. When I asked her to wait until after dinner, she countered: “But I wasn’t taking a cookie.” And … Continue reading →