SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Saturday, December 21, 2002
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Anti-US campaign and pro-US governance: a smart atrategy of South Korean President-elect Roh
South Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-hyun campaigned with an anti-US platform and is now starting his pro-US governance.
He has vowed to ease the tension on the Korean peninsula, which is clouded by Pyongyang's nuclear issue. He also said that he would work closely with the US to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
Theory states that in chess and in politics, the center is where the game is at. Elections are generally won by having a centrist platform - one that would appeal to most, if not all, sectors. But this is not a "politics-as-usual" situation for South Korea. Its "Pyongyang crisis" is at its peak, and at the same time, its citizens are vehemently opposing America's proactive stance on Iraq. Mr. Roh knows that he can only win the presidential race via an anti-US platform. But Mr. Roh also knows that, in dealing with Pyongyang, South Korea can't go it alone. A smart political strategy. In the long run, South Koreans will also realize that it is also a strategic move along the lines of of national defense and unification of two Koreas to have US an an ally, i.e., if it wants to diplomatically overthrow the apologetic kidnapper.
posted by Allan at 11:20 AM (GMT+8)
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