With a Dictator's Death Comes a Delicate Balance

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In a New York Times Op-Ed entitled "What to Do, and Not Do, About North Korea," Robert Gallucci explores the question that pretty much every American had on their mind after Kim Jong-il's death-what does this mean for the U.S. and what do we do about it?

Most of us would like to see North Korea's "horrendous totalitarian government," as the author calls it, fall - but we want it enough to do something about it? Would that be a good idea?

The answer is, of course, unknown. Whenever there is awful human suffering in a country, the U.S. seems to at least consider doing something about it. Sometimes the government does, and it ends up being a really bad idea, like in Mogadishu. Sometimes it doesn't or does too late and then regrets it later, like in Rwanda.

Galluci, despite admitting the "horrendous" nature of what is occurring in North Korea, things that this is definitely a case when U.S. should not get involved. He states that "we should not be in the business of teaching other governments lessons. We should adopt the best policies to protect our national security." And in this case, that entails "entering a serious discussion about the North’s nuclear weapons program, aimed at its dismantlement." But not to "openly advocate the overthrow of the government in Pyongyang."

I am definitely inclined to agree with him. For all that I firmly believe in human rights and that I, as an individual, have just as much obligation to help someone from Indonesia as the United States, the government interfering is generally not a good idea. From what I know of U.S. history, it seems to me that cases where involvement in other countries' domestic conflicts has led to regret or puppet governments outnumber those where intervention has led to good. The U.S. is not some sort of superhero country, it doesn't and shouldn't go around helping out everyone else - normally "helping" really means trying to get oil or something else, or leaving before the problem is solved because the public has lost interest. All countries are out there to protect their national security and their interests, the U.S. is no different. "Teaching other governments lessons" is not a good idea from our perspective or a human rights one.

So I say we let North Korea do what it's going to do - while urging change, of course, but not really pushing. What do you think?