The North Korean missile launch brings with it an unmistakable sense of déjà vu. We have seen the movie over and over: We saw it in 1993 and 1994, again in 1998, and again in 2006 and 2007. The pattern follows a predictable course: First Pyongyang announces to the world its intention to take a certain action: a missile test, a nuclear test, the resumption of plutonium production.
The U.S. president declares that such an action would be “provocative,” the secretary of state warns that there will be “consequences,” and the U.N. ambassador announces that the issue will go to the Security Council. Then North Korea carries out the act. The president and others condemn it and seek a Security Council resolution. Within hours, anonymous U.S. diplomats are cited in the media suggesting that the act was not all that provocative, and that our real goal must be to get North Korea back to the negotiating table.
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