Fecteau: An Embargo Against North Korea
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
This is especially relevant after the tragic death of University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier formerly held in North Korean custody. Mr. Warmbier’s alleged crimes were infinitesimal, but he paid a cruel price. In a kangaroo court, the North Korean government convicted Mr. Warmbier of “hostile acts” when he tore down a propaganda poster and condemned him to 15 years of hard labor. He was held in North Korea for 17 months falling into a coma before the government finally released him on humanitarian grounds. Sadly, he recently died on American soil as a result of the harsh treatment in North Korea.
This cannot keep happening as this is one of many cases where the North Korean government simply detains American citizens for its own demented agenda. Each year, hundreds of Americans travel to the East Asian country in search of adventure, putting American national-security interests in peril. Currently, the Kim Jong-Un-led North Korean government has three Americans in long-term detention for miscellaneous, inordinate charges.
The United States has a duty to keep itself out of an untenable position, especially with nuclear weapons involved. The North Korean government wants any leverage possible in its nuclear confrontation with the United States, particularly American citizens, to use them as pawns.
American travelers need to be deterred from going to North Korea, and any American found in violation of the respective embargo I am proposing should face a stiff financial penalty or even prison time. This isn’t just about their safety; this is also to ensure North Korea doesn’t attempt to extort the United States by holding our citizens as hostages or as human shields.
We cannot allow Americans to keep traveling to North Korea un-penalized. They are not only gambling with their lives; they are also becoming bargaining chips in a potential nuclear confrontation.
Related Articles
- Fecteau: Trump’s Miscalculation On the Comey Firing
- Fecteau: Trump’s Revenge
- Fecteau: Trump’s House of Cards: Season One
- Fecteau: Trump’s Embarrassing First-100 Days
- Fecteau: Trump’s a Nuclear Nihilist
- Fecteau: Trump’s Big Business Boondoggle
- Fecteau: Trump’s Terrifyingly Twisted Tweets
- Fecteau: Trump’s Toxic Reversal on Climate Change
- Fecteau: Will Trump’s Tax Reform Plan be Another Epic Fail?
- Matt Fecteau: Dear Trump Supporters, This isn’t a Reality TV Show
- Fecteau: What is Going on Between Trump and Russia?
- Fecteau: Until We Act on Gun Violence, Expect More Ungodly Death
- Fecteau: Trump’s War Power; U.S. Military Operations in Syria Are Constitutional
- Fecteau: The Futile Anti-Trump Protests
- Fecteau: That Red Line in Syria
- Fecteau: Climate Change and Trump
- Fecteau: Clinton Should Participate in a Recount
- Fecteau: Chafee’s Wrong on Russia
- Fecteau: Adiós Cuba
- Fecteau: A Somber Silver Lining in London
- Fecteau: Congress is Missing in Action on the War in Syria
- Fecteau: Dire Choices on Syria
- Fecteau: Obama Strikes Back, but Too Little, too Late?
- Fecteau: Terror and Response
- Fecteau: Obama Made the Right Call on the Israeli Settlements
- Fecteau: Is Obama or Bush to blame for the Rise of Islamic State?
- Fecteau: Honor Our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day
- Fecteau: A Responsibility to Protect in Syria
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It