The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. –Benjamin Franklin

High-level talks have resumed between the two Koreas under the old “sunshine” policy, which can only mean that what has happened before in the past is bound to repeat itself very soon. North Korea’s supposedly impending nuclear disarmament is going to bring about all of the usual fringe benefits of duping the West through blackmail and coercion. The United States, for one, has trashed its previously assertive position with the north and is now considering early provision of fuel aid. The south, meanwhile, will eventually be resuming rice and fertilizer aid as soon as the deadline for disarmament passes.

We’ve seen this story before. It’s been on repeat for decades. The modern world cuts off the aid, North Korea begins to collapse, North Korea makes a grand threat, and the modern world caves. See the pattern? There was nothing to say before the Kim Jong-Il won’t decide to restart uranium enrichment in the future, just as there was never any precedent for it in the past. What happens when he decides there isn’t enough rice to feed his military? Fifty bucks says we’ll be repeating this scenario in a few years!

If Benjamin Franklin could see how we’re handling North Korea, he would surely describe our behavior as insane. The rational thing to do would be to find an alternative plan that doesn’t involve propping up the North Korean regime with aid. In fact, regime change by allowing it to quickly collapse on its own would be the best solution. There are tons of worries that people have, like the huge influx of refugees that China would face, but these are all minor compared to the long-term disaster that is Kim Jong-Il. Swiftly dealing with the aftereffects of collapse and stabilizing the country is much more desirable than allowing that tyrant to stay in power.

The only reason why I can imagine we aren’t doing this is because the insanity of doing so is nothing compared to that of Kim Jong-Il. If the United States is continually willing to give in, it must be because, in fact, because we are being blackmailed into allowing him to continue ruling. At least this is the valid excuse I am giving the Bush administration, because I want to believe that this opportunity was given up for a good reason. Otherwise, this is just a game of who can up the ante with the most insanity.