America Assists Illegal Arms Purchase Involving N. Korea

"Ethiopia bought arms from North Korea with U.S. assent"

Wow. This reminds me of the many known instances of action in opposition to what we might normally consider the good of the general population in order to get certain things done (Pinochet, Castro, Pahlavi, Hussein, Iran-Contra...I could go on, but I am tired). Now, much like many of the things in our sordid American history, the actions can easily be rationalized to make sense. In order to appease a nation we truly believe, in he end, will bend to our will we allow some money to support the people. And the money they are receiving comes from a country fighting the evil terrorists. It is a bit (a lot more than abit) idealists to believe that countries will act in the best interests of the humans that live on the world, but I think idealism should at least be reached for. Missiles for money...

"Nor is this the first time the Bush administration has made an exception for allies in their dealings with Pyongyang. In 2002, the Spanish military intercepted a ship carrying Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen. At the time, Yemen was working with the United States to hunt members of Al Qaeda operating within its borders, and after its government protested, Washington asked that the freighter be released."