Why Obama Foreign Policy Scares Me

The University of Georgia’s Professor Han S. Park, apparently a buddy of leading Obama Asia advisor Frank Jannuzi (also an East Asia specialist for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), had this choice comment in the Korea Times (abridged):

Q: Some people keep raising doubt on whether North Korea will give up nuclear weapons. Will it?

A: My response to that is yes. North Korea is expected to relinquish its nuclear programs and weapons themselves, if it has security assurances. No country, including North Korea, is expected to relinquish its security interest in exchange for economic and political interest. We cannot buy off North Korean nuclear arms. No matter how large the amount, North Korea is not going to relinquish its nuclear arms for money. It’s not an economic matter. We have to address North Korea’s security concerns if, in fact, we’re going to press North Korea effectively to compromise its security means.

That, in and of itself, is a fine point. But what is the definition of “security assurances,” you ask?

Firstly, stop the (South Korea-U.S.) joint military exercises. For North Korea, it’s a direct expression of hostility. Secondly, the conversion of armistice agreement into a peace pact. Thirdly, they want the mission of the U.S. military in South Korea to be redefined so that North Korea will not be the primary enemy target. Fourthly, they want American sanctions to be lifted. North Koreans are not interested in symbolic implication of it. They are interested in the prospect of U.S. lifting of trade sanctions and political sanctions imposed on North Korea. Sanctions include not only the bilateral one with the United States, but also the one imposed by the multinational ones, that is, the United Nations. Finally, diplomatic normalization with the U.S. I think that will be sufficient. Then, North Korea will give up everything.

In the last four sentences he undermines his original assertion—that security assurances are separate from economic and political interests. But I’d rather turn the keyboard over to Marmot for the real commentary:

OK, so all it will take is an end to joint exercises with a close US ally, the mission of US troops to be redirected at some other country (maybe the Mongolians?), the lifting of economic and political sanctions, and diplomatic normalization? Where do we sign? Maybe we’ll send Jessica Alba over to jack-off Kim Jong-il as service.

So why my post title? It terrifies me to think that guys like this are going to have influence in the incoming administration.