Back to semi-real-world stuff. I just read an article in Foreign Affairs, about how absolutely misguided and deluded Hussein’s regime was before the invasion. It’s long (12 pages), but you oughtta give it a read, if only to get a greater understanding of what may have been going on at the upper levels of the government.

It made me wonder what we’ll find out when North Korea collapses. I think we’ll discover that there were some absolutely insane management choices, similar to some of the appointments made in Iraq, but I really wonder what we’ll find out about the “limits of dissension” in the military and inner circle. Will it turn out to have been even more restrictive than Iraq under Saddam?

I also wonder about Iran’s “management”, but at least there we know that there’s dissension (and its quashing). I don’t know if there’s a North Korean analog to, say, my buddy the Brooding Persian. Can anyone clue me in on such a blogger? And if one doesn’t exist, is that a sign of North Korea’s ruthless control over external displays of dissension (even anonymous ones), or is it even worse: a level of repression that bans even the thought of dissension?

Just wondering. I promise to get back to posting wedding pictures soon.