In American English we have an expression for describing deceit and mischief. We call it "monkey business." Today, as we look at the global situation, we find a great deal of monkey business stemming from communist and "former" communist countries. Russia and China, along with North Korea, figure prominently.
The chief monkey business of the past week involved North Korea. The regime in Pyongyang has thumbed its nose at us, attempting to force down a U.S. military plane flying through international airspace. Intimidation, veiled threats and lies characterize Pyongyang's behavior.
A few days ago I received the testimony of a man who fled North Korea half a century ago. Asked about anti-American demonstrations in South Korea, he said it was hard to understand. He noted that America had sacrificed a great deal to keep South Korea free from communist tyranny. He added that the current generation of Koreans "have no memory or knowledge" of the Korean War which cost over 50,000 American lives. He further explained that South Korea's new President is a leftist, that there is no longer a concept of right and wrong in the country. "Deals are made, but there is no thought of what is right."
The developed countries, including newly developed countries like South Korea, are focused on comfort. Appeasement comes naturally. America itself has reached the edge of this moral wasteland. From the perspective that seeks comfort, anyone who stands against appeasement is "dangerous." The policy of appeasement is simple. Bribe the forces of darkness in order to delay their advance. Let them get as strong as they can. Hold them back for one lifetime, maybe two. That being accomplished (after the appeasing generation has enjoyed its quiet life) the floodtide of evil is free to engulf a clueless future generation.
Those who lack vision, who view political events narrowly, do not see that society is a continuum. The civilization we defend is not merely a community of the here and now. It is a community that includes our forefathers and those who will carry on after us. Our inheritance is magnificent and we are duty-bound to preserve it for posterity. It is therefore the statesman's task to confront the growing evils of the day so that future generations will not be overrun.
On Monday, March 3, President Bush mentioned, for the first time, the possibility of using military force against the communist regime in North Korea. The president said that using force would be "our last choice" to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program. "If they don't work diplomatically," the president explained, "they'll have to work militarily."
The day before these words were spoken, North Korean fighter jets intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan. The North Koreans wanted the U.S. plane to land in communist territory. Their objective was to trigger an incident that would increase tensions and test U.S. resolve. But the U.S. plane refused to be intimidated.
According to U.S. intelligence, North Korea has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear facility for the production of plutonium. It appears that the North Koreans intend to crank out nuclear bombs like sausages at a sausage factory. This would place Japan, South Korea and the U.S. West coast in serious danger. The president therefore called for the acceleration of America's anti-ballistic missile program. He naively hoped that Russia and China would join in an effort to dissuade the North Koreans from their mad drive to intimidate South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons.
Why North Korea should generate a crisis at this moment is hardly a puzzle. The North Korean regime started the current troubles in order to complicate America's mobilization against Iraq. Communist power works for the downfall of America. It seeks to unite with America's enemies whenever possible. As it happens, North Korea is not the only country working to complicate America's position in the Middle East. The powerful Russian state, armed with thousands of nuclear weapons and the most advanced intercontinental rocket ever made (the SS-27), has also sought to hamper U.S. strategy.
On Feb. 21, speaking before a national congress of Russian army officers in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin used Leninist terminology to describe the strategic situation. He said that today's "correlation of forces is visibly out of balance." He then cryptically referred to a new set of international alignments that would upset all calculations. "We cannot overlook the increasing aggressiveness of very influential forces in some countries [i.e., the United States]," said Putin. Russia therefore needs a professional and efficient army that can work with its strategic partners.
And who are Russia's strategic partners?
In January a Russian nuclear expert, Yuri Fedorov, admitted that North Korea's nuclear program was supported by Moscow. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the North Koreans imported Russian nuclear technicians. Here is a convenient technique for shifting the "correlation of forces" in Moscow's favor. It is the business of the monkey to play the international game in this way. If Russian scientists go to Iran, China and North Korea, it is clearly America's fault. After all, America should have pumped $500 billion into Russia. That would have kept Russia's mass destruction experts from flooding into the rogue states.
Putin hides his enmity behind polite language and Leninist phrases. Leonid Ivashov of Russia's Geopolitical Problems Academy gives us a clearer idea of Russian strategic thinking. On February 7 Ivashov said that America's policy of disarming Iraq (which will likely be applied to North Korea), will ruin the existing international security system. "The symptoms of possible future chaos are already here," said Ivashov. "I am sure all of you remember Australia's statement that it will make preventive strikes. Israel, too, has repeatedly said this."
Russia and China have created an environment in which civilized countries like Australia and America fear that terrorists will be given nuclear weapons; that such weapons will be unleashed on innocent populations unless the Axis of Evil, intermediaries between Russia and the world's terrorists, are boxed in and disarmed.
Ivashov and the Kremlin's veiled doublespeak would like us to think that America is the aggressor seeking to dominate and exploit the world. "The military doctrine or the doctrine of preventive strikes basically consolidates the right of the U.S. armed forces to interfere in the affairs of any country," Ivashov charged.
Ivashov's opinion is a projection of Russian's dark shadow. "We can clearly see the desire of the U.S. and its allies to rule the world. We can also add the world financial elite here too." It is the communist paranoia of old. The evil capitalist bogeyman is on a rampage.
It is surprising how many people in the West repeat this mantra, unaware that it is a shopworn Leninist theme. Following this theme, Ivashov stated that "the U.S. feels itself under a tight time limit for securing control over world resources and political power in most countries." He then asked a rhetorical question. "Why the hurry [against Iraq]? Because ... China is growing, the Arab world is consolidating itself [and] ... a rather powerful development is going on in Southeast Asia."
In other words, a powerful anti-American combination is emerging out of Asia. And what is Russia's role in this monkey business?
"The present state of Russia satisfies U.S. interests," explained Ivashov three days after the Sept. 11 attacks. "What will be tomorrow is unclear," he said with a hint of mystery. "Thus, the U.S. is now at a transition point. She has come to the climax of her military-power adventures for grabbing power over the planet. I think this peak will be crossed in one and a half to two years [i.e., March 2003 to Sept. 2003], after which the USA will retreat from its positions as a result of economic problems."
This is a fascinating remark, and not a mere product of wishful thinking. Ivashov further stated, with remarkable foresight: "I think an attack on Iraq will occur. I think Iran will be drawn into the confrontation, and it should not be excluded that Israel will participate.... After that, U.S. policy will disintegrate under the influence of the economic and social-political collapse inside the U.S. One has the feeling, that the financial oligarchy in power on this planet are not interested in maintaining the U.S. population at its present living standard...."
What Ivashov said in September 2001, aside from its propagandistic color, clearly anticipated a U.S. assault against Iraq 18 months in advance! In his statement last month Ivashov added a further tidbit: "I will say for everybody that the use of nuclear weapons during the conflict is quite probable."
The monkey business of Iraq and the monkey business of North Korea are connected to the business of the Kremlin monkeys. Here the monkeys blame America. That is the heart of their game. Those who would destabilize the world and pave the way to revolution are in Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang and Havana. They mask their mischief while pointing a crooked finger at the United States.
And this monkey business, whatever else one might say, is clever indeed.
