A snippet from an article titled "No Use Staring at the US in Hostage Crisis":
The goal of the Taliban is to dump all of the responsibility on the U.S. government. The fueling of anti-American sentiment by certain groups in Korea will only play into the [Taliban's] hands and justify their atrocities.
Easy thought experiment: replace "the Taliban" with "North Korea," then note that South Korea's strategy is consistent in both cases.
_
As far as I can tell, anti-US groups in Korea are attempting to use the crisis to further their own agenda, but most of the public isn't biting. It has restored my faith in humanity somewhat to hear this (from online Korean news sources).
ReplyDeleteI gather that the spectrum of public opinion on the subject has been remarkably sane, but I should have made clearer that I was referring to the South Korean government's consistency: deliberately negotiate from a position of weakness, be ready to offer money and other forms of ass-kissing instead of showing a willingness to fight, etc. That strategy seems to be the same whether SK is dealing with the Taliban or with North Korea.
ReplyDeleteKevin