It could be worse, Part 2

Being politically correct is a big issue in the USA. And it’s no secret that the desire to tread carefully has interfered with the proper conduct of business and government. But it could be worse—at least we’ve never allowed the thought and expression police to attack our defense policy. Witness our friends in the Republic of Korea and the current fuss over the Defense White Paper.

South Korea has not published its annual defense white paper in three years. The problem? A major debate inside the government (although not, from what I hear, within the defense ministry in ROK) about what to call North Korea. Up until the last report, the aforementioned northern neighbored was called the “main enemy.” Under the current draft, the North is portrayed as a (not “the”) “direct and principal threat.” But that is still too much. North Korea has said that this is too drastic a change and would not serve the best interests of the Korean nation or reunification.

It’s times like this when you don’t even want to waste your breath on a rebuttal. How about a reduction in the one million man standing army north of the border? How does internal DPRK policy refer to ROK? What’s really getting in the way of reunification and more amicable relations (the answer isn’t Dubya). So remember, when you next hear someone complain about political correctedness in the US or elsewhere, remember that it could be a lot worse.

That’s my last comment on the Korean peninsula for at least a week, I promise. Many props to the Marmot for the trackback of the previous post.