Jeesum. Just look at this mess (CNN):
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that North Korea had put its long-range Taepodong-2 missile on a launching pad, but it was unclear if the missile was fully fueled.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang said it would not be bound by a 2002 treaty prohibiting launches of ballistic missiles.
Just in case anybody mistakenly thinks there’s some certain-sure intelligence in that report, the Korea Times helpfully says:
They said it has not been confirmed whether the object on the communist country’s launch pad is indeed a missile or a satellite-carrying rocket.
So… is it a missile? Or are they launching a satellite? It makes a big danged difference, ya know? And Polimom just loves this (CNN again, my emphasis):
Some analysts believe that North Korea is piqued world attention has shifted to concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and angered at a U.S. crackdown that has frozen hard currency income from alleged illegal activities such as money laundering.
Why can’t people just learn to wait patiently in line? Can’t they see we’re busy right now?
They are waiting in line… the gas line. That’s why the missile isn’t fully fueled yet!
Anyway, th whole situation reminds me of my two young cousins, who spent the weekend trying to outdo each other for attention: “Look at me!” “No, watch meeee!” “Hey, over here!”
Yup – that’s exactly what it’s like. And today, there’s this:
Sound like anybody else in the news recently?
If I were W, I would give them “direct talks” all right –
“Hey there, ‘Dear Leader’ – if you don’t pull that goddam missile off the launch pad right now, and keep it off. we will make sure you never launch it – or anything else – ever again. If you even think of launching that ****er with a live warhead in our direction, I will have one of our ballistic-missile subs create a great big honkin’ crater right where you stand- and then I will send a pissed-off jarhead with a .45 to personally shoot you in the head.”
~EdT.