Rodman May Be Good For U.S. Foreign Policy Even If The U.S. Media Condemns Him For Breaking Their Rules
Schultz says that Rodman might help the North Korean dictator emerge from his shell without giving him a propaganda opportunity.
Published January 8, 2014
By CHARLES C. SCHULTZ
If the American media hates Dennis Rodman for being snippy with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, then Rodman must be on to something.
Don’t get me wrong. I was skeptical, too. Seeing Rodman’s previous interviews, I thought his trips to North Korea were all show. In this interview, in contrast , we see that Rodman is dead serious. With a passion of a Macho Man Randy Savage in his prime, gravelly voice, mumbling speech and all, Rodman proved that he truly believes in Kim Jong Un and has a strange affection for him.
So what if Dennis is wrong and Kim Jong Un is really a psychotic dictator? Well, so what if he is not? What if he is an overwhelmed young man taking directions from a few elder handlers? What if Kim wants to open relations with the U.S. but for cultural reasons cannot make the first move to avoid looking weak? What if Kim one day will look for an opportunity to close the prison camps? What if the little guy just loves American sports and wants to watch high quality basketball in-person? Will Rodman’s friendly basketball game make it more or less likely that North Korea will try to loft an atomic bomb over Los Angeles or San Francisco in the next 10 years? That is the real question.
In 1936 the Nazis used the Olympic Games as a tool to showcase the Third Reich to the world. A compelling argument could be made that the 1936 Olympiad set the world back – not forward. Rodman’s exhibition game will do no such thing. The world will not be paying attention. Let’s allow Dennis to be his own mini-multi-colored, deranged Olympics inside the palace walls of North Korea’s newest despot.