Diplomacy is the same thing that the Bush administration was doing with N Korea so its not like Obama is doing anything different on that front. Not sure why folks think that the US has to play world police every time something happens elsewhere and get our nose into things. For those of you suggesting covert ops or other means of silencing the midget, exactly what would you do? I mean, you take out the midget and you still have a lot of others who would follow in his footsteps. You have to keep in mind that this wacko has been in power for a long time and his father before him. Lots of brainwashing of the population during that time. Not to mention that if you start playing around in China's backyard without their blessing you could be looking at something a whole lot more involved and costly in terms of American lives. Given that China practically owns half of the US right now, they sort of have us by the balls. The best bargaining chip that we have is suggesting that with all the saber rattling by N Korea, may be its time that Japan should have a standing army, you know, for "self defense". The last thing China wants in the region is a well-armed Japan. I'm sure they still have nightmares about the last time Japan had an army. Also bear in mind that N Korea often does the saber rattling deal right before they try bargaining for something. I also think you'll find that there have been a number of incidences in the area for years that have gone unreported in the press.

Andrew