New at Reason

David Weigel | October 13, 2006

Brian Doherty isn't scared of every loud boom that permeates the airwaves, and neither are most Americans. And that's a good thing.

Comments

|10.13.06 @ 3:52PM|#

If I jumped every time some panicky newscast flashed around here, I'd end up talking to myself.

Speaking about North Korea, I made a point to solicit our South Korean cleaning lady's opinion on the whole situation. She thinks Kim Jong Il is totally loony, and wants the U.S. to finish what it started fifty years ago. So there's one vote for invasion. She was quite thankful that we had stuck around, which punctured my cynicism a bit. One always forgets that there are people affected by what we do--for good and for ill.

|10.15.06 @ 4:20PM|#

The article suggests that we could or should inform the North Koreans that "if they or any of their clients set off a nuke in ernest our rage will be that of the berserker". Good idea, put the fear of God in them. The threat of violence can be a more persuasive force than violence, IF they believe you're will to go through with it. I wonder what our credibility is along these lines?