Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste

South Korean President "Lee, once seen as rather inept in handling public opinion, this time showed his Machiavellian side," suggests Andrei Lankov, noting that "it seems certain that the South Korean government either knew or strongly suspected all along that the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean stealth attack" — Seoul plotted a course through crisis.

"So, this time Lee and his advisers have a good chance of emerging from a difficult crisis as survivors, if not winners," the author writes. "They skillfully avoided doing something stupid and dangerous while preserving their dignity in the eyes of their voters and, perhaps, scoring a few additional percentage points in the coming elections."