Posted by
David Van Edema on Sunday, April 26, 2009 12:42:25 PM
North Korea's New Bargaining Chips
Laura Ling and Euna Lee may be wondering if our sitting president remembers who they are.
Ling and Lee, in case you haven’t heard, are two U.S. journalists who were captured by the isolated nation of North Korea a little over two weeks ago. The two women, who work for San Francisco-based “Current TV” founded by former Vice-President Al Gore, were conducting interviews with North Korean refugees trying to rebuild their lives in China. Though they were repeatedly warned by their South Korean guide to stay away from the long, and in some places, unmarked border, it is believed that they were captured by border guards and hauled into North Korea, though it is not entirely clear if they had strayed on North Korea’s side as the border guards claim, or if were abducted on the Chinese side of the border. Personally, I wouldn’t put it past the North Koreans to pull a stunt like this. They have abducted people outside their borders before.
The North Koreans have since announced that the women will go on trial on spying charges. If convicted (and it’s highly unlikely that they’ll get a fair trial), they could face 5 to 10 years in a labor camp. For the time being, the North Koreans have stated that the women are being detained in a “guest villa”, and have scoffed at suggestions that they have been mistreated, claiming that “We are not Guantanamo”.
I would hope not. Holding journalists hostage for reporting stories that you don’t like is a lot different from holding terrorist suspects plotting to destroy your nation. Treatment naturally should be better.
Yes, hostages are exactly what they are, not prisoners of war. It’s likely that North Korea will use the women as bargaining chips to receive further concessions from the U.S. and its allies.
What puzzles me, however, is that our sitting president, Barack Obama, has never stated what he plans to do about the journalists. Try as I might, I was unable to find even one story in which he directly addresses the hostages in any article related to the subject as of this writing. The closest I could find was him addressing North Korea’s so-called “satellite launch”, and that’s long since passed. That’s not to say that I know for certain that he hasn’t, I just haven’t been able to find a story where he does. What is his position on this? What are his plans on freeing the journalists, if he even has one?
Now, I know that a few conservatives out there, upon learning that the journalists worked for the radical, left-wing, global-warming apocalypse predicting Al Gore, are tempted to write off the journalists as just two more idiots who got what they had coming to them for being stupid enough to put themselves into this position. Think about this, though; what if the journalists had been successful on their assignment, and had brought their interviews back to the states, exposing what really goes on in North Korea as told by the refugees who lived there? North Korea is an extremely isolated nation… very little, news or otherwise, goes in or out of its borders. Would they be hailed as heroes, or would they still be considered just a couple of idiots? In all likelihood, we would be devouring their tales of “courage, bravery and close calls” in every newspaper and magazine in print, as well as talking about the “never before seen” photos and videos of North Korean life.
Barack Obama needs to put his “Apology for America” tour on hold and start telling us what he plans to do about the hostages. There are no American hostages in Europe or South America, so perhaps he should think about a trip to North Korea. He said himself during the elections that he was willing to sit down and negotiate without preconditions with those who didn’t like us … so start negotiating.
Who knows, maybe all it will take is a handshake, a hand on the shoulder, and saying “Anyong haseyo”. Hugo Chavez gave him a book for such a greeting. Maybe Kim Jong-Il will give him the hostages. He could even throw in a “we’re sorry we’re so arrogant” apology. Maybe even bow before him. Whatever works.
All kidding aside, it’s time for these women to come home. Yes, they may be liberal pain-in-the-necks, but they’re still our pain-in-the-necks. No American journalist deserves to be sentenced to slave labor in a North Korean prison camp for the next 10 years, or be treated as bargaining chips, no matter what we feel they represent.
Now, President Obama… what are you going to do about it?
Sources:
US Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee to be Tried in North Korea: AP April 24th, 2009
North Korea to Try Two US Journalists for 'Hostile' Acts: AP April 24th, 2009
Seized US Journalists Become 'Hostages' in N. Korea Crisis: Tim Johnson, McClatchy Newspapers, April 2, 2009
Lisa Ling's Sister Arrested in North Korea: Michael Y Park, People.com, March 23rd, 2009