Indeed, their quality is so superb that Bender suggests they aren’t made by North Korea at all, but somewhere in America by the C.I.A.—a claim for which there is no evidence.Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
The counterfeiting of American currency by North Korea might seem, to some, to be a minor provocation by that country’s standards. North Korea, after all, has exported missile technology in blatant disregard of international norms; engaged in a decades-long campaign of kidnapping citizens of other countries; abandoned pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons; and most recently, on July 4, launched ballistic missiles in defiance of warnings from several countries, including the United States.posted by cgc373 at 4:50 PM on August 12, 2009
But several current and former Bush administration officials whom I spoke with several months ago maintain that the counterfeiting is in important ways a comparable outrage. Michael Green, a former point man for Asia on the National Security Council, told me that in the past, counterfeiting has been seen as an “act of war.” A current senior administration official, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of relations between the United States and North Korea, agreed that the counterfeiting could be construed by some as a hostile act against another nation under international law and added that the counterfeits, by creating mistrust in the American currency, posed a “threat to the American people.”
Blazecock Pileon: Most hostage negotiations involve getting hostages in return for favors. It doesn't seem like NK operates in good faith when it keeps ratcheting up tensions, after being granted concessions.
[...]
Given the billions of counterfeit money, I'm wondering if there's a lot more corruption and dirty laundry being covered up on behalf of a lot of people, not necessarily all North Koreans.
Burhanistan: dirty dealings of the NK elite are a vital part of the international underground ecosystem and people with their hands in the pot intersect with more legitimate government and transnational interests quite frequentlyThat was my exact thought in reading this article: that part of the reason this isn't stopped is because there are other people doing similar things or benefiting tremendously... and they aren't remotely North Korean. It seems like on the surface, this should be easy to stop, and that Illicit Activities operation was ready to do just that, on a serious scale. On the surface, these things seem patently simple: the Pacific Rim is imperiled by NK's existence as a despot-run hell hole, and millions of North and South Koreans struggle with its impact. It seems inhumane to not be doing our damndest to eliminate Kim Jong-Il, starting with all of his monetary ties to the outside world.
pompomtom: If the USA wanted to eliminate Supernotes, they could be doing a shed-load more than they are doing.I think you're talking sense, but that perhaps you underestimate the rabid, petty, senseless conservatism of the American people.
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posted by Drasher at 3:06 PM on August 12, 2009