Thursday, May 05, 2005
Pat Buchanan is insane . . .
Okay, so that isn't necessarily news to anyone. But now he is advocating a total withdrawal of all US forces from Korea in the face of nuclear threats from Pyongyang.
That's nuts. Withdrawing American troops makes it more likely that the North would invade South Korea. We WOULD get sucked in, or we would lose credibility throughout the world for effectively abandoning an ally to a madman.
Buchanan seems to believe that China would get involved to stop Pyongyang. That analysis, however, lacks credibility. China is not interested in solving Western security issues; China is interested in becoming a regional leader. What better way to do that than by expanding the power of a client state like North Korea?
Sigh. Isolationism was a poor choice back in the 1930's, when it took days to cross the ocean or the continent. It is an even poorer choice now when it takes mere hours to travel halfway around the world.