The English edition of the Joongang Ilbo carries two extremely interesting pieces today. The first is an op-ed column by Hal Piper on North Korean human rights activist / “right-wing extremist” Norbert Vollertsen, while the second in an interview with “The Third Wave” author Alvin Toffler in which he discusses the neocons, concepts of empire, and the “new age.” Be sure to read them both. Just a little snippet from the later piece:
Another issue is the word “pre-emption.” This is a controversial issue. Countries faced by terror of the kind that was so dramatically illustrated on Sept. 11 will quickly adopt the same language of pre-emption as the United States has. Once they are targeted, as Bush has asked, should they wait for the next attack or do they want to pre-empt that from happening?
I should also note that one of the chief antagonists to the idea of pre-emption was Kofi Annan. However, if we go back about two years, there was a rebellion in Sierra Leone. A handful of ragged rebels with rifles captured the capital and the airport and only a show of force could get rid of them. And so well-armed soldiers turned up and drove them away. Those well-armed soldiers wore blue helmets.
The next day, Kofi Annan made a speech proudly announcing that they had pre-empted serious problems. He used that word. The idea that pre-emption is a dirty word or that the act of pre-emption is bad is just nonsense. The question is what is being pre-empted? And that does raise serious questions.
