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Opinion

Columnists

Thu, February 20, 2020 | 21:16

Donald Kirk

'It can't happen here'

War is actually never that far away in this corner of the world. We've grown so accustomed to near-crises and mini-crises that we tend to shrug and say, “It can't happen here,” which, as it happens, is the name of a bitterly satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis published in the 1930s.

2019-07-25 17:12

South Korea versus Japan

TOKYO - Korean and Japanese relations have plunged to their lowest depths since the Korean War, and there's apparently no reconciliation in sight. The governments in Seoul and Tokyo are engaged in a game of dare and double-dare in which each tries to out-threaten the other with hurtful measures and harmful results.

2019-07-18 17:40

Undiplomatic bad-mouthing

LONDON - You can hardly imagine the embarrassment of the Brits over one of the all-time tempests in diplomatic teacups. It was one thing for the highly proper British ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch to send a memo back to the foreign ministry in London calling President Donald Trump's White House “dysfunctional,” “unpredictable,” “faction-riven.” “clumsy and inept” but quite another for the whole world to know what he had written.

2019-07-11 17:36

Trump's crazy stories

Sometimes you have to wonder why Donald Trump spins so many untruths and half-truths and why or whether he thinks he can simply get away with that stuff forever. That's why a couple of his boasts last Sunday seemed so unnecessary, so easily questioned, so pointless. The one I liked most was his claim that we would have been at war right now if Barack Obama's stay in the White House had been extended or if someone like Obama had been elected in his place. That was a jibe against not only Obama but also Hillary Clinton, who would probably have been reasonably firm about North Korea.

2019-07-04 19:42

Exercises in summitry

Summit fever is upon us. The mere idea of two leaders sitting down and talking suggests the ultimate panacea. Surely they can come to terms once they look each other in the eye and work out all those terrible differences.

2019-06-27 18:22

North Korea needs to say sorry

Advocates of a “peace treaty” with North Korea believe, unanimously, that such a treaty would serve some real purpose other than provide the North with ammunition for withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea and closure of U.S. bases. The slightest scrutiny of history should make painfully clear that the North would violate the treaty whenever, however, it wished, but the treaty crowd talks as if North Korea would observe it without question. For sure, they believe, the Korean War would be over.

2019-06-20 17:12

Sunshine: Lee Hee-ho's legacy

In her own way, Lee Hee-ho shares credit with Kim Dae-jung for the Sunshine policy of reconciliation with North Korea that he fostered during his presidency from 1998 to 2003.

2019-06-12 17:40

Dreams of democracy

The vision of a brave new world in China three decades ago was captivating, exhilarating proof at last that democracy could prevail in an outpouring of revulsion over Communist dictatorship.

2019-06-09 17:22

Healing historic hostilities

WASHINGTON - President Trump's visit to Japan carries a message for South Korea as much as anywhere else. It's time to call a halt to outpourings of anti-Japanese sentiment.

2019-05-31 18:09

VIRGINIA BEACH - Holiday crowds soak up the surf and sun while sailors and marines train for war in distant countries about which they know very little. A young marine, bored with the routine at one of the dozen or so facilities between this sprawling oceanside community and the huge naval base up the interstate at Norfolk, says in an idle moment he'd like to see what combat is like.

2019-05-23 17:59

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