There was a fairly startling news item over the weekend that didn’t get quite enough attention. Apparently, the Bush administration is willing to give up on its own North Korea policy, and allow Kim Jung Il to make prohibited arms deals.
Three months after the United States successfully pressed the United Nations to impose strict sanctions on North Korea because of the country’s nuclear test, Bush administration officials allowed Ethiopia to complete a secret arms purchase from the North, in what appears to be a violation of the restrictions, according to senior American officials.
The United States allowed the arms delivery to go through in January in part because Ethiopia was in the midst of a military offensive against Islamic militias inside Somalia, a campaign that aided the American policy of combating religious extremists in the Horn of Africa.
American officials said that they were still encouraging Ethiopia to wean itself from its longstanding reliance on North Korea for cheap Soviet-era military equipment to supply its armed forces and that Ethiopian officials appeared receptive. But the arms deal is an example of the compromises that result from the clash of two foreign policy absolutes: the Bush administration’s commitment to fighting Islamic radicalism and its effort to starve the North Korean government of money it could use to build up its nuclear weapons program.
But that’s just it; these principles aren’t “absolutes” at all. In this case, the Bush administration had specifically insisted that North Korea not be able to sell these arms, right up until U.S. officials decided the opposite.
The administration can’t sell arms to Ethiopia, in part because of trade restrictions, and it can’t let North Korea get money from arms deals, because of sanctions. But when push came to shove, the White House could allow both.
It sends an ideal message to any country facing trade sanctions — the United States means what it says, unless we find practical reasons to let secret arms deals go through. The sanctions we demand are apparently flexible — even after we implement them.
For that matter, the administration’s flexibility is moving all kinds of money around the globe.
Kevin Drum explained:
ABC News has reported that the United States is funneling money to Jundullah, a Sunni terrorist group based in western Pakistan. The New York Times has reported that the United States allows arms deliveries from North Korea to flow to Ethiopia. And now, via Ken Silverstein, CNN’s Michael Ware is reporting that the U.S. military provides protection for the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iraqi-based group listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department:
“The U.S. State Department considers the MEK a terrorist organization — meaning no American can deal with it; U.S. banks must freeze its assets; and any American giving support to its members is committing a crime.
“The U.S. military, though, regularly escorts MEK supply runs between Baghdad and its base, Camp Ashraf.
“‘The trips for procurement of logistical needs also take place under the control and protection of the MPs,’ said Mojgan Parsaii, vice president of MEK and leader of Camp Ashraf.”
Remember when Bush said he doesn’t “do nuance“? I guess it’s no longer operative.
Post Script: Last week, CNN told viewers that Speaker Pelosi was “Talking to Terrorists,” by virtue of leading a bipartisan delegation to Damascus for an official visit. In the meantime, the Bush administration is literally funding and protecting terrorist organizations and allowing Kim Jung Il to make weapons deals. We can now expect CNN to put up a “Dealing with Terrorists” graphic next to the president’s picture, right?