Sanctions--what a good idea

The Japanese certainly have a handle on the situation to their west:

Meanwhile, at the United Nations, Japan formally proposed that the Security Council condemn the missile launches and impose sanctions on North Korea, including an embargo on materials and technology needed for the missile program, despite statements from North Korea threatening war if sanctions are imposed.

Sounds like a no-brainer, yet China is cool to the idea, and they along with Russia have UNSC veto power. Thing is, the world is fast losing patience with Kim Jong and any Chinese obfuscation will only be seen as proof they hold the puppet strings but don't care to remove the doll (much to the chagrin of former Clinton officials trying to blame this entire brouhaha on Bush).

Beijing's desire for status quo is gonna be a hard-sell, especially while missiles are still on the pads and in light of sensible remarks from people like US negotiator Christopher Hill:

"We shouldn't have business as usual with a country that's been firing off missiles like this in this rather reckless way," Mr. Hill said shortly after landing here.

Lurking in the shadows is the left's favorite villian, John Bolton. Remember their assinine hyperbole fest after his nomination? I sense some payback is coming in the form of a measured political success.

While I don't pretend to know how this will shake out, perhaps it might involve ostracizing China and Russia while crafting a way for other willing countries to support our taking out the silos, or being publicly in favor of such. If successful, the message would also be heard loud and clear in Tehran.

7/9/06

John Bolton--been there, done that:

A PROGRAMME of covert action against nuclear and missile traffic to North Korea and Iran is to be intensified after last week’s missile tests by the North Korean regime.

There are wild cards, though:

The risk being assessed between Washington and Tokyo this weekend is how far Kim can be pushed against the wall before he undertakes something more lethal than last week’s display of force.

The toys are for show--proliferation is a much more worrisome concern.