04:33 PM
Politico Deja-doodoo

North Korea has untested ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast, CIA director George Tenet says.

Why do I feel like it's 1984 and I'm hearing Ronnie Ray-gun talking about the Evil Empire again? I mean, the only point to making statements like that is to scare the crap out of people and get them on board for whatever war Bush feels like waging this week. There's no valid reason for anyone in the government, let alone the CIA director, to make public statements like that other than to terrorize the ordinary folk and to demonize North Korea (who really don't need any demonizing, they're scary enough just as they are, thank you very much). It's not like the general populace should run out and build bomb shelters or kids should start doing the inane "duck and cover" things from the 50's so all it serves to do is stir people up on the evil Commie menace and make them stick little plastic flags in their car windows and puff up their chests patriotically....all of which achieves absolutely zero in terms of getting North Korea to step back and disarm.

Oh, sorry, I forgot, the Bush regime has no interest in doing anything truly productive in foreign policy. Silly me, I forgot it's better to bomb everyone else out of existence.