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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 17:26 |
| John North
Editor & Publisher |
I was amused to read of the Bush administrationës proposal to make it tougher for Kim Jong Il, North Koreaës president, to buy luxury items.
However, my amusement was far surpassed by my amazement at Kimës hypocrisy and lack of regard for his countrymen.
In what is believed to be Washingtonës first effort to use trade penalities as a way of personally aggravating a foreign leader, it has formulated a proposed list of targeted items, including iPods, plasma televisions, Segway electric scooters and more.
These
items are believed to be favored by Kim, or to have been presented by
him as gifts to the 600 or so loyalist families who run the communist
government.
The
administrationës plan strikes me as humorous because, as proven
repeatedly in the past, despite international efforts to stop him, Kim
has other options for obtaining high-end consumer electronics and other
luxury items.
For a man who
has bucked international pressure to launch a secret nuclear weapons
program, it seems ludicrous to think an effort to keep luxury consumer
items out of his hands has any chance of success. But, in this case, I
realize that that is not the point our government is trying to make.
Reportedly, Kim
is a major consumer of cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork,
expensive cars, Harley-Davidson motorcyles and personal watercrafts,
such as Jet Skis.
The proposed ban
also would include musical instruments and sports equipment. While he
only stands 5-foot-3, Kim is known to be an enthusiastic fan of
American basketball. In fact, then-Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright presented him with a basketball signed by Michael Jordan
during a diplomatic trip in 2000.
"While North
Koreaës people starve and suffer, there is simply no excuse for the
regime to be splurging on cognac and cigars," Commerce Secretary Carlos
M. Gutierrez said last Wednesday. "We will ban the export of these and
other luxury goods that are purchased for no other reason than to
benefit North Koreaës governing elite."
Gutierrez said the penalized items were "carefully considered and carefully targeted."
In U.S. history,
sales of items associated with military buildups or weapons design have
been banned at times to certain foreign countries, but never before has
our government put sanctions on a specific category of luxury items
that is aimed so clearly at one man.
In this
particular case, the Bush administration openly admits that its plan is
specifically intended to annoy Kim. Officials also admit that enforcing
a ban on black-market trading against him would be difficult.
"Heës got folks
who can move around nuclear weapons. If he tells these guys to get him
a case of Scotch, theyëre going to pull it off," according to James A.
Lewis, a former State Department official who worked on arms control.
"Unless itës too large to fit into the cargo hold of a commercial
aircraft, itës going to be tough to restrain him."
I think with
this proposal, the U.S. government is assuming the role of a scolding
parent with a spoiled brat. I doubt this tack will work. If the plan
fails, I fear that some people around the world will admire Kim ¨?ÇƒÓ as
an underdog ÇƒÓ more, and respect the U.S. less.
However, if this
plan results in heightening the worldës consciousness of Kimës
hypocrisy, then it will have been worthwhile. That, of course, is my
hope.
As for Kim, he
is a ruthless dictator with no checks and balances on him. I am glad
the U.S. is making an effort to address Kim, who truly is a threat to
global peace.
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