She's Got a Little List

Jacob Sullum | June 8, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says her department is considering whether to punish North Korea for its continued development of nuclear weapons by putting it back on the official list of "state sponsors of terrorism." But if this list is to have any credibility, shouldn't it be based on, you know, state sponsorship of terrorism? "Obviously we would want to see recent evidence of their support for international terrorism," Clinton said on ABC's This Week. The New York Times notes:

That evidence may be hard to come by. While North Korea has engaged in missile sales, it has not been linked to terrorism activity for many years. And North Korea's restoration to the list would be largely symbolic, because it already faces numerous economic sanctions.

Here's a list that makes more sense.

Comments

|6.8.09 @ 2:57PM|#

Can't we just have a list of countries we currently laugh at and turn to other more reasonable countries and make curly motions with our fingers next to our heads? North Korea would be a permanent member of that list.

|6.8.09 @ 3:02PM|#

Colbert putting them on his Threat-down would pack more of a punch, I think. I don't see them displacing "bears", though.

|6.8.09 @ 3:22PM|#

I have requested that the UN Security Council place North Korea on special, double secret probation.

|6.8.09 @ 3:32PM|#

My grocery list has more global relevance.

|6.8.09 @ 4:05PM|#

happy to see a Gilbert & Sullivan reference. y'all tend to 70's & 80's lyrics too often.

Brian Sorgatz|6.8.09 @ 4:07PM|#

"Terrorism" is just a word. Since when do words have distinct meanings as far as the government is concerned?

Way to invoke Gilbert and Sullivan in the post title.

|6.8.09 @ 4:07PM|#

But if this list is to have any credibility, shouldn't it be based on, you know, state sponsorship of terrorism?

Oh, come on. Next thing you'll be arguing that laws based on the Interstate Commerce Clause should actually deal with matters involving interstate commerce, that the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act should only be used against racketeering-influenced and corrupt organizations, and that the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA-PATRIOT) Act of 2001 should only be used against terrorists.

|6.8.09 @ 4:16PM|#

"And, finally, I looked around our world and I thought, you know, we are in just so many deep holes that everybody had better grab a shovel and start digging out."

--Hillary Clinton, explaining why she accepted appointment as secretary of state, "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," June 7

|6.8.09 @ 4:39PM|#

Hills handling of the NK crisis should surely get her canned at some point. what a huge fuckup

|6.8.09 @ 4:40PM|#

Maybe they should just revive the "Axis of Evil" list.

|6.8.09 @ 5:02PM|#

Hills handling of the NK crisis should surely get her canned at some point. what a huge fuckup

As much as I think Hillary is every bit as bad* a choice for State as Mad Allbright was, I can't really see her having contributed any additional fuckupness to the NK clusterfuck. It has been fucked up since Bill let Jimmy Carter work his magic.

I've said generally nice things about Carter over the years but I must confess that his well meaning dogoodism was completely misplaced in this situation.

I thought the bellicosity of the Clinton administration was a little over the top, but to completely reverse itself into the kind of capitulation represented by the Carter deal was even worse.

Frankly, I'm not sure if we wouldn't have been better off provoking a war then than to have gone and let NK get the bomb and face the war which i have now come to believe is pretty much inevitable. As near as I can tell, it's the only thing the NK regime understands.

*Actually, probably worse, since Mad at least did have some credentials, even though she was viewed as a lightweight by foreign service pros on both sides of the red/blue divide.

Douglas Gray|6.8.09 @ 5:13PM|#

It is unsettling for such a wacko like Kim Il et. all to have a nuke, but thus far all they have done is sabre rattling.

When it comes to killing innocent people in other countries to achieve political objectives, the conventional arsenal of the U.S. D.O.D. killed about 30,000 during the intial invasion of Iraq, and seems to kill women and children on their way to weddings on a regular basis in Afghanistan.

If we could put Osama Bin Laden, George Bush, and Kim all on trial as terrorists, that would be fair.

|6.8.09 @ 5:22PM|#

"When it comes to killing innocent people in other countries to achieve political objectives, the conventional arsenal of the U.S. D.O.D. killed about 30,000 during the intial invasion of Iraq, and seems to kill women and children on their way to weddings on a regular basis in Afghanistan." [citation needed]

|6.8.09 @ 5:40PM|#

What's next? A strongly worded letter? Heaven forbid.

Rib O\'Flavin|6.8.09 @ 5:52PM|#

Hans Blix: Let me in, or else.
Kim Jong Il: Or else what?
Hans Blix: Or else we will be very angry with you... and we will write you a letter, telling you how angry we are.

Brian Sorgatz|6.8.09 @ 6:33PM|#

Tarylcabot beat me out by two minutes in referencing G&S. I was busy finding a YouTube link.