Add your comment by filling out the form below in plain text. Comments are approved by a moderator and can be edited in accordance with RFAs Terms of Use. Comments will not appear in real time. RFA is not responsible for the content of the postings. Please, be respectful of others' point of view and stick to the facts.
Stanton's motives are good, but he is naive. The bill is of limited use without the backing of China. Given the porous border, Kim Jong-un and his note-taking flunkies will still be able to import all the lobster and French wine they can handle.
We should be putting pressure on China with our enormous leverage vis-à-vis the trade deficit. China's economy would collapse without trade with the U.S. If China were to close its border to luxury goods for DPRK elite, the government would fall within one year.
However, right-wingers like Stanton refuse to even consider putting pressure on China because it would diminish the wallets of U.S. capitalists. His bill will give the same results as our sanctions on Iran, i.e. almost none, because we will be squeezing ordinary people, not the leadership.
And I doubt if Barack Obama will penalize Dennis Rodman, the Harlem Globetrotters, and other Americans who travel to North Korea, because interpretation is 9/10 of the law.
Aug 31, 2014 04:53 PM
Reply to this comment
Stanton is definitely not naive. His bill is the only possibly effective deterrent against NK to have appeared in the past 50 years. He's already explained in his response how it will put pressure on Chinese business. Read the article.
Sep 08, 2014 01:07 AM
Reply to this comment