North Korea

We've all heard a lot about this xenophobic little country that sits on the other side of the world. Its neighbor to the south has been threatened, along with the United States, with harsh militaristic tactics.

The threat of "nuclear" war is imminent, according to the propaganda machine of North Korea.

Kim Jong Un, the untested boy, who inherited his power from his father and grandfather, is trying to fill some really big (er...) shoes by picking a fight with the biggest bully on the block (i.e., the United States).

Here's what I think:

1. The Chinese aren't doing much to calm down the rhetoric spewing from the Korean Peninsula, which makes it harder to swallow for countries like the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

2. The United States seems to be stirring in the pie, too, by sending in fighter jets to South Korea and beefing up its missile detection network in the Pacific. This only serves to encourage Kim.

3. If the United States is going to "up" the stakes, then it needs to make it a real life exercise. With the blessing--or disinterest of China--the United States needs to take care of business by either withdrawing its beefed up operations in the region; thereby, calling Kim's bluff. Or, simply carpet-bomb the little third world country back to the Chinese border, starting at the DMZ and pushing northward.

This would show them that the "boiled pumpkin" really does have teeth and knows how to use them. I know it is cruel for the innocent people who are stuck between a rock and China, but it really is the only way to give this little country a chance for any kind of new start in the international community.

I'm not advocating an occupation. It is more of a calling card: "Hi, we received your message and dropped by. If you want to see us again, just use our name on the television...or drop a note-in-a-bottle into the sea! See ya, Uncle Sam."

America's Middle East

With the burning of a Qu'ran by a Florida church, America is now faced with its own outrage at the hands of the Afghans.

Last year, the church in Gainesville, Florida, was set to host the "International Burn a Quran Day" on 9/11. Instead, Terry Jones, who is the church's pastor (cult leader), decided to postpone the hateful act after much domestic and international pressure. The event was resurrected (I can't help myself), in the form of the "International Judge the Koran Day." This event took place recently.

Sufficed-to-say, Muslims did not take kindly to the video burning of a single Qu'ran on the church's website. Now, I am not a religious fanatic. Actually, I am not religious at all. But you know what you get when you pit two groups of ignorant people against each other. That's right, people get hurt, and some even die, which is the case in Afghanistan.

Even though the act showed poor taste and utter ignorance, I am a firm believer in First Amendment rights. I believe every American has the right to protest and support his/her beliefs in a non-violent way. Although, I believe you may burn any book you wish, the fact remains that the people who participated in this act of protest understood the ramifications of their act. It wasn't simply speaking out against a governmental policy, but a slap-in-the-face of over a billion people, who are easily pissed off when it comes to their faith.

Now, the American government and military must bear the burden of the burning of a single Qu'ran. Americans and Afghans have died in what has become a cauldron of hate and retaliation in Afghanistan. As someone who teaches American National Government, I am puzzled by what should be the outcome of what has happened. I teach my students that their rights end where another individual's rights begin. (I often cite Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' opinion, in re: Schenck v. United States, of the figurative man shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, as a caveat.) As such, I believe the people who knowingly participated in this act should be expatriated to Afghanistan. Sometimes you must freely sacrifice a lamb to the wolf in order to save your flock. How's that for atonement?

Japan's Navy takes to the High Seas

Japan recently dispatched a portion of its navy, called the Maritime Self-Defense Force, to hunt down pirates. Two destroyer class warships will hunt down and kamikaze pirates in and around Somali waters, located off of Africa's horn. (Okay, not really kamikaze, but they will be protecting Japanese interests in the area. It just sounded way cool.)

Pakistan

After declaring martial law, Pakistani dictator, Pervez Musharraf, has explained his actions to his country and the world.

According to Musharraf, Pakistan is at a "critical and dangerous juncture." He went further to state that he is working to settle unrest within the country in attempts to protect the nation's infrastructure.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who has been at odds with Musharraf in the past, stated that the declaration of martial law by the president was extra-constitutional. In accordance with this statement, Musharraf sent troops to the chief justice's office to relieve him of his position.

Troops were also sent to other members of the supreme court's homes, but it is not known if they were arrested or simply impeded from carrying out any official government functions.

Secretary of State Condi Rice, who is in Turkey, even went as far as to bemoan the move by Musharraf. (I thought she might feel as if it was a good thing, considering her track record for despots utilizing unconstitutional powers.) She went further to say that Pakistan must keep its commitment to free and open parliamentary elections in January.

In the final assessment, who knows what will come of Pakistan or General Pervez Musharraf, who has been president since 1999, after taking power in a bloodless coup d'etat.

Maybe Benazir Bhutto has some answers for us...if she is still alive.

Pakistan's Future

After watching all the swooning mobs who came out to cheer for former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and then the subsequent terror that followed, I couldn't help but ask myself if her return is a signal toward the demise of current president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.

Bhutto, who returned from an eight year self-imposed exile, was greeted by mobs of people, who came out to show respect for their former leader. Of course, her parade route was soon turned bloody by a bomber, who killed 136 people.

Bhutto claims that security was poor along the route she was taking from the airport. There are even claims that street lights were not functioning, which led to the meager security forces having increased difficulties dealing with the logistics of the route.

Who knows who is to blame for the attempted assassination of the Muslim world's first democratically elected female leader? Some say al-Qaeda. But it is not for certain.

What is for certain is that Bhutto invokes great respect and pride among her people. This could be used as a platform to rally Pakistan back toward democracy again.

Genocide: Why Now?

Why is the United States Congress suddenly concerned with alleged genocide that happened almost one hundred years ago?

The government, and citizens, of Turkey are up-in-arms over a House of Representatives resolution that would label the death of 1.5 million Armenians, during World War I, as genocide by the Ottoman Empire (which was centered in modern day Turkey).

One Turkish general says the measure amounts to "shooting [oneself] in the foot," considering that a vast majority of Iraqi logistics and cargo are routed through Turkey. It stands to reason that the Turkish government would become uncooperative with the United States if such a resolution were ratified.

Why is Congress so concerned about this event from the past?

Reason would dictate that such a resolution might be best served in the United Nations, or even leave it to the government of Armenia to determine whether or not genocide occurred in their nation. I have not heard from the Armenians on this issue. They seem more relaxed than the American government. (Maybe we should take a lesson from them.)

Some argue that the resolution comes on the heels of a possible Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq to root out Kurdish rebels. The United States could use its resolution as a bargaining chip to get the Turks to stand down from their military invasion of northern Iraq.

Of course, I believe the two are wholly and systematically unrelated.

Nawaz Sharif

After defying President Pervez Musharraf's decree that he not return to Pakistan for ten years, Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, returned to a semi-warm reunion, three years shy of his ten year exile's expiration.

Although, it would seem such a homecoming would be warm and happy, it was anything but that. Sharif was arrested at the airport and then detained for several hours. Eventually, he was placed back on a plane and sent back to his place of exile, Saudi Arabia.

Sharif's attorneys have taken his fight to the nation's supreme court. The supreme court had already issued an opinion that Sharif had an "inalienable right" to return to Pakistan, despite President Musharraf's orders.