I’ve been trying to get around to writing this for about a week, and things just kept zapping my energy. Still feel that way, but buggering on because this is, at least to me, important. I apologize in advance for any conjunctive disconnects in the delivery.
Earlier in the week the new DRPK’s new leader Kim Jong-un announced he would suspend its nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors to monitor activities at its main nuclear complex. The move was unexpected, and generally viewed with skepticism by the United States administration.
What is desperately needed in North Korea is food for millions upon millions of starving people. The food shortage is desperate and widespread malnutrition has been killing children for several years. The food and nutrition shortage is so substantive that now North Korea actually has an entire young adult population six inches shorter than their South Korean counterparts. The human toll and suffering is beyond western comprehension, and we have shared some previous stories almost too graphic to contemplate.
Franklin Graham has been doing outstanding work through Samaritans Purse and other charitable organizations in an effort to deliver food with extreme urgency. Millions of people are at risk of death if a rapid response is not quick to foot.
Unfortunately the politics of nations has intervened.
This is where I diverge from both the left and the right. Politics has no place in eliminating human suffering, and the hypocrisy of President Obama’s administration has on more than one occasion brought my blood to boil. There are millions of cubic feet of food products available for assistance to the citizens of DRPK, yet the politics of both Korean officials and the insufferable ego’s of Western governments, primarily our own have kept the humanitarian crisis from being avoided.
President Obama has implemented a doctrine in February 2011 outlined as “A Responsibility To Protect” or R2P as it is known. This explanation was used for the interventionist tactics into Benghazi Libya last year to help assist the Libyan Rebels with arms to fight against the Gaddafi regime, and protection for its citizens. Yet when faced with a massive humanitarian crisis in North Korea, this doctrine is forgone in lieu of egos and old wounds from years of mistrust.
Get over it. Get over yourselves. Do whatever it takes to deliver these desperately needed food products to the people of Korea. This is where I diverge from both the left and the right within our polarized political process. If Obama needs to bow down to Kim Jun-un to get the border open and allow USAID or other groups to get the food in there, then just do it. I’ll get on my knees and grovel, beg, clean his damn shoes if that’s what it takes. It is not weakness to provide compassionate intervention, it is beyond immoral not to do so. Take the high road and swallow your pride so that innocent starving citizens can swallow a few grains of life saving rice.
I care not for the nuclear aspirations of the DRPK it does not factor into the equation. The mother holding a dying child for lack of rice or beans cuts through the political fog of weapon bartering. Just put that aside, leave those irrelevant, but important political issues for another day. Now is not the time to draw conditions upon whether or not we should ship food to starving Korean children. Sorry. It just aint reasonable. Right is right even if nobody does it, and wrong is wrong even if everybody does it. Just do the right thing.
The Obama administration called the nuclear suspension steps “important, if limited.” But the announcement seemed to signal that North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, is at least willing to consider a return to negotiations and to engage with the United States, which pledged in exchange to ship tons of food aid to the isolated, impoverished nation. Why are we attaching contingencies to food aid? Just do it.
On the other side we have insufferable, and well fed mind you, Republican Senators like Jon Kyl saying that we should be cautious not to trust the Korean leadership because they have failed to live up to prior promises in the past. Again, who cares. Just get the damn food in there. This politicization of support for the people is ridiculous and as each day passes hundreds of North Koreans are dying. This is totally avoidable.
As part of the agreement, the United States said it would send 240,000 metric tons (about 265,000 tons) of food, though it limited the aid to nutritional supplements, rather than the rice and grains because, two administration officials said, has in previous instances been diverted by the government or the military, or even sold abroad. C’mon, give me a break the potential benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks. Just do it.
The aid is expected to be delivered in monthly shipments of 20,000 metric tons over the next year. The United States also insisted on rigorous monitoring to ensure that the aid would be provided to the neediest, especially women and children, many of whom show the stunting effects of chronic malnutrition. In its statement, the State Department said that in exchange, the United States was “prepared to take steps to improve our bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality” and to allow cultural, educational and sports exchanges with North Korea. This is how politics creates death.
Pyongyang has repeatedly requested that food aid resume, but until recently it had imposed conditions that were unacceptable to the United States, U.S. officials said.
“They demanded large quantities of rice and gain that could be, in our view, diverted to elites or to the military. They’ve now dropped those demands and agreed to allow our program to move forward as proposed,” another senior U.S. official said. Officials say the new U.S. program will be aimed at combating chronic malnutrition rather than delivering emergency food supplies, saying repeated surveys indicate food shortages in several parts of North Korea had led to widespread malnutrition among children.
“We have said that our partner organizations will have to be fully operational, meaning fully in place on the ground with their offices functioning before the food will begin to arrive,” the first U.S. official said.
From my perspective all of this back and forth is ridiculous. If some of the food does not reach the people due to corruption, then rather than kill the baby to save face how about just sending more, again, and again, until we are certain enough food has been provided to stop the devastating famine.
I’m flying solo on this opinion because it just doesn’t meet with the well written dossiers from all the research analysis of the talking heads. But I don’t care. Drop the stuff from the sky if needed, send trucks, boats, planes, and just keep sending it until we can be certain that people are able to eat.
You don’t think that approach would build an internal coalition amid the people to help them? And subsequently bring about a change of opinion, or even action.? Think about it. What do we stand for. Freedom and doing the right thing, or politics of starvation, think about it.
I choose the former. The same Compassionate American process that eventually brought down the wall at the Brandenburg Gate.
My take on this…. the people are starving in North Korea because their government has arranged it. This is not a food shortage. It is intentional. We have seen this happen in other corrupt nations. Food, medicine etc are left to rot in warehouses or sold to line gov’t pockets. You can re-enact the entire Berlin Airlift. The N.Koreans will confiscate it all. They don’t want these kids healthy. They are pawns and victims. Think of it as welfare taken to the extreme. For these kids to live their abusive government must die.
Yep.
Barnslayer, I’ve gotta disagree with you on this. While it is true that the government of North Korea has been historically complicit in trying to “hide” the desperate state of their food shortage, it was not for some intentional direction to inflict harm. It was out of a bizzarre and irrational ideological fear that to admit the problem would be equivalent to broadcasting weakness and failure to the rest of the world.
The North Korean leadership has been historically insufferably isolationist, and while I could write a significant thesis on “why”, suffice to say they just are. It is a massive prideful thing brought on by years and years of continual diminishment and ridicule from centuries of conquests and attacks upon them. Pride is ingrained, and supported by the state, in the very essence of a North Korean.
I have followed the yeomans work of Franklin Graham for quite some time on this issue, and I believe his opinion on this carries significant weight, at least for me.
Their communist state is in a massive state of decay and collapse, and while they are unable to get off the ride without admitting defeat (see the pride issue) it should not matter to us in reference to feeding their starving masses.
Take the politics out of the equation. Take the 1,000 yard stare out of the consideration. And just do whatever is needed to help those people. Period. If it means the west must exhault the regime, then do it. If it means standing at a podium, swallowing pride, and proclaiming the incredible magnamimous wonder of a stupendous super-power that is North Korea, then so-be-it. Who cares if that is a pack of lies, the entire friggin world knows the same truth.
Just help those poor people. Period.
Everything I’ve read on the subject says that the food (from anywhere) is stored for the North Korean military. The civilians never get it.
So we need to send more than the military could ever eat. I don’t care. Do it anyway and do it publically, and do it to such an extreme that their citizens cannot be unaware of what is being done.
We are talking food here, not rockets, missiles, guns or weapons. Food.
Let’s say the North Koreans receive this gift of food. Unless their gov’t was convinced no one anywhere would ever broadcast the true source of this food those kids wouldn’t get a single bit of it. It is not beneath this regime to silence all recipients of this food lest the truth be known. How could the government live down their need to accept charity? It would be an admission of failure. Unless they could spin this as a victory for North Korean communism it would not be permitted to happen. And since this food originated elsewhere they could never have that absolute assurance. Yes these kids are innocent victims and it truly does suck but this is the result of tyranny and it isn’t unique to North Korea. If America were strong enough and properly lead we could force the issue. It hurts to see it and know what’s right and not be able or allowed to fix it.
You have good and truthful points. But as I think about it, I don’t care if those people being fed think the food comes from us or from their own government. Getting them fed should be the priority. If the North Korean leaders want to hide the truth… – So? If they want to keep the charity hidden…. – So what? I don’t care. Just feed those people and don’t worry about who gets credit, or non-credit as the case may be.
However they need to “spin it” is totally ok with me, so long as that family gets fed. I just don’t care.
I’m not talking about credit being taken by those donating or dropping the food. I’m saying the communists won’t let it be if it makes them look bad. The food could rain out of the sky from thousands of unmarked C5 Galaxy’s (if we have that many) but no body on the ground is going to get to eat it unless the gov’t either allows it or doesn’t know about it. I’m thinking their gov’t keeps pretty tight tabs on everything and promises rewards to all informants.
The Kim Jong-un administration has requested the food. So I’m figuring that aspect (“looking bad”) has already played out.
Was this son educated out of country?
That does change things. If the N.Korean gov’t is onboard it’s just a matter of getting it done. I say just because these same situations are being addressed elsewhere through groups like World Vision (I think). Food etc, is delivered to the actual recipients by their own volunteers, not dumped off and entrusted to the authorities. These kids are not african or moslems so I don’t see the UN or other pc type groups caring.
Barn, I deeply respect what you have presented here, and I agree on so many fronts. I hope my passionate advocacy has not come accross wrong. The only reason I am so attached to this issue is because the thought of those families starving just tears me up. I do not like the N.Korean commies in the least. However, when I think about a parent having to watch a child starve and being essentially powerless to help them, it really gets to me. Combined with this ridiculous politicalization of the entire issue making my blood boil.
It goes without saying SD, you got a Christian heart. Don’t even think of apologizing for it! I share your sentiments. If I knew how to do it I’d say “C’mon, let’s go, I got the planes waiting!” But the best I can hope for is to find a group who will do it and give them a donation.
Eventually, their military will be unable to sustain itself with new recruits that are underfed and malnourished. Is this the path to bringing the regime to its knees? My concern is that we feed the next generation and get them fit and ready to maintain the status quo. On the other hand, at what point does the DPRK see starvation as a direct threat to continued survival of the state and decides to invade the south, where more arable land is available.
Send’em the damned food!
And I say that as someone who spent over 35 years hunting, tracking, fighting and killing communists (and other assorted vermin) on five continents.
As Ronald Reagan said, “You can get a lot of good stuff done…if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
The NORK regime has requested the food aid – and acquiesced to us sending (at first) nothing but food *supplements* rather than rice and beans. For the regime to come hat-in-hand (so to speak) and ask for help probably indicates that the situation is far worse than we can imagine.
And, whenever we start sending actual food instead of just supplements – if we do – we may be able to deliver the food in US Navy helicopters from ships to the individual villages — and the people could see where it came from. (Slim to no chance of that – but it could happen.)
I’m quite sure, too, that the first shipments will go to the military and the families of the elite; but that will also have the effect of leaving more food for the populace, in the short term — and then further shipments will get to them.
This doesn’t mean that we’re letting the NORKs off the hook for anything, or that we will not oppose any expansion moves or growth of their nuclear and missile programs.
But it IS a way that we can possibly change the tenor and direction of the regime and our relationship with them.
At any rate…………just send’em the damned food.
Solaratov is Breitbart !!! Yes, that is exactly my point only you said it better. Maybe it will change the tenor, maybe not, but yes, just send them the food. We’ll never know if we don’t do. And beside that, even if it don’t change nothing at least we will have done something to help feed those people.
We cannot be responsible for the outcome, ONLY THE EFFORT.
No question. Well said, Gentlemen. You don’t throw away opportunities to do the right thing, especially when you’ve been asked. Barn had damn good points, but like he said, their request changes everything.
A new article on the NORKS – “Anyone Defecting From North Korea Will See Three Generations Of Their Family Executed.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/anyone-caught-defecting-from-north-korea-will-have-three-generations-of-family-members-executed-2012-3
Giving Obama ideas.