N. Korean General: We'll Nuke You




(CBS) North Korean three-star General Ri Chan Bok tells correspondent Dan Rather that if the U.S. invades his country, he will use nuclear weapons to defend it.
Rather spoke to the general during a recent visit to the reclusive Communist dictatorship for a 60 Minutes report airing this Sunday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

“Tell the American people that you met the general. If the United States invades our country and starts a war, the People’s Army will fight to the death and defend ourselves, taking appropriate revenge,” says Gen. Bok.

Does the general think that the United States might attack North Korea? “We firmly believe that the United States will carry out its policies on our country, even if they have to use military means,” Gen. Bok tells Rather. “What we can say to you definitely right now is that we currently have nuclear weapons,” he threatens.

Bok wouldn’t show 60 Minutes cameras any of his missiles, but did show Rather his troops at the border with South Korea. There are more than 30,000 American forces on the other side. The general said that the Americans and their South Korean allies have stepped up military and propaganda exercises recently. He said it’s because of what he calls the “neo-conservatives” in the Bush administration.

“[Neo-conservatives] are people who want to dominate the world, just like the Nazis of Germany. After striking Iraq they want North Korea,” says Bok.

The U.S. State Department refused to discuss North Korea with 60 Minutes.

That is what most of the world thinks of them and I'm afraid they make a good case.

In my opinion, they aren't really conservatives. They aren't fiscally conservative, they aren't politically conservative, they aren't socially conservative and they aren't environmentally conservative.

Think about what the word "conservative" means. Literally, it means one that doesn't squander resources. It implies restraint, prudence and thrift - all fine qualities, which they lack. It also implies strong ethics, honesty, morality and a disdain for greed.

<rant>
Well, I'm a conservative and a patriot, by God, but I'm damned sure no fan of those jackbooted thugs. The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves right now. The current administrations sounds so much like all those "bad" countries, like Russia and Nazi Germany, that we were taught to hate. I grew up in a time and place where we were taught about the concepts of Independence and Liberty. They scared us with stories of the gestapo and the KGB. Remember the old movies with the gestapo agents at the train stations checking everyone's papers? Sound familiar? Been to an airport or a train station lately?

I'll close this rant with a quote from another patriot, you may have heard of him:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin
</rant>

That doesn't mean, though, that they're not way better than some lunatic like you guys look across the fence at every day or a bunch of cutthroat hooligans like in Africa and South America. It just means we aren't living up to the dream and that both breaks my heart and makes my American blood boil.