Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “North Korea Launches Missile Over Japan

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April 5, 2009

North Korea Launches Missile Over Japan - Japan, U.S. Just Watch

Hatched by Dafydd

North Korea fired a rocket over Japan on Sunday, defying Washington, Tokyo and other world leaders who suspect the launch was cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. President Barack Obama warned the move would further isolate the communist nation.

Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes, but no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.

Japanese missile-defense batteries, which could easily have shot down the missile, did not fire. Prime Minister Taro "the Potato" Aso (a.k.a., "Single Digit") just sat and watched it fly over his country (yet again).

American Aegis and BMD (ballistic missile defense) ships were in the region; they too could have splashed the missile with near certainty -- they too just observed as it flew overhead. Almost certainly, orders came from the Commander in Chief to make no move to intercept, no matter where the missile was aimed... to just let it pass overhead and hope it didn't hit anything.

But I don't want to leave you with the impression that we did nothing; heavens no! The Coalition of the Whining did plenty, bub:

Chief Japanese Cabinet spokesman Takeo Kawamura announced that he was "highly concerned by this matter."

Japan demanded an emergency meeting of the U.N. to discuss the provocation.

President Barack H. Obama urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to "abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council" and not to be so "provocative."

Red China, North Korea's primary patron, "urged all sides to maintain calm and exercise restraint."

And U.N. Secretary General Nanki-Poo "regretted North Korea's move."

But at least Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has laid down the law to North Korea. Well, not Hillary as such; she was too busy. But she sent a trusted subordinate to make the point that we will not tolerate being threatened in this way:

State Department spokesman Fred Lash called the launch a clear violation of Resolution 1718, adopted five days after North Korea carried out a nuclear weapons test in 2006. The U.S. will "take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it cannot threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity," he said late Saturday in Washington.

It comforts me to know that the security of the United States against the existential threat posed by a nuclear-armed North Korea is in such stalwart, courageous, and decisive hands.

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, April 5, 2009, at the time of 12:35 AM

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Comments

The following hissed in response by: Dick E

Dafydd-

I’ve got a little list:

I accept your nomination of the Secretary General as Nanki-Poo.

Then I guess it’s President KoKo (who of course would never really draw his snicker-snee against anyone) and First Lady Katisha.

The rest of the cast could be fun, too. There are lots of candidates for Pooh-Bah, but I like Joe Biden. And how about Harry Reid for Mikado and Nancy Pelosi for Pitti-Sing? No one comes to mind in the role of Yum-Yum, but there are plenty of candidates in Congress for Peep-Bo.

Stop me, please!

The above hissed in response by: Dick E at April 5, 2009 4:01 PM

The following hissed in response by: Chris Hunt

Not only did the U.S. and Japan do nothing, but our protests and calls for "international solidarity" and "condemnation" of the wascally North Koreans fell on deaf ears. We sputter unilaterally.

Four years of fecklessness and flashpoints. What's not to like?

The above hissed in response by: Chris Hunt at April 6, 2009 6:04 AM