North Korea has handed over to China a dossier on its nuclear activities, and plans to destroy the cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor complex.
The Bush administration will take North Korea off the State Department’s terrorism blacklist.
Secretary of State Condie Rice says the United States has the means to verify North Korea’s estimates of its nuclear programs. John Bolton thinks she’s full of shit:
“This is a sad, sad day,” said John Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations and a leading critic of the new American negotiating stance. “I think Bush believes what Condi is telling him, that they’re going to persuade the North to give up nuclear weapons, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think we’ve been taken to the cleaners.”
Well, at least Ban Ki-moon is happy.
Eight years, and we’ve got this steaming load of crap. The critics are right — if Agreed Framework 2.0 was going to be the result, we might as well have stuck with the Clinton deal.
Over at Think Progress, “Satyam” gives us a flashback to when Bush was governor and wondering why the hell he should care about North Korea. Funny thing is, the Ineloquent One had the right idea back then. If the Chinese and South Koreans want to pay off the nuclear basketcase in their backyard, that’s their business. Is it now US policy to pay off any regime that threatens to develop nuclear technology? Besides, assuming we’re concerned about North Korea’s sales of nuke technology to third parties (like Syria), isn’t rewarding them precisely the wrong thing to do?
North Korea should have been ignored and left to collapse on its own. Instead, it’s going to be another four years (at least) of watching North Korea play “let’s fuck with another US president.”
I can’t wait.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Kim Jong Il claims to have a thing for Angelina Jolie’s ass in this music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HLIyAkGn9M
This is a disaster.
Hey, can’t blame ‘em. It is US policy invade countries that don’t have weapons of mass destruction, and reward those that do.
Anyway you slice it, it’s a disaster. Officially, the North is off the list, but unofficially, I don’t think they are off the hook that easily. Look at their history of terror acts, 1968 Blue House raid, the ’83 Rangoon bombing, Korean airline bombing in ’87, tunnels under the DMZ et al. Unofficially, they are not off the list and will still be watched very closely. It’s just an overt political ploy to get them to give up nuclear weapons. The real question is: unofficially, has the North given up nuclear aspirations?
Was Bolton’s choice of cliche’s a coincidence, or did he carefully select “taken to the cleaners” when discussing an issue related to Korea?
Wow. I’m almost as bad as a commenter who’s name shall remain unspoken for fear of waking the devil.
The Bush’s North Korean diplomacy has resulted in a disaster, much worse
than the Bill Clinton’s over which Bush had heavily criticized. Far from confronting KJI, Bush is pratically appeasing him and trying to award him
for not doing what NK is not allowed to do.
The US may afford to turn a blind eye to the KJI’s nukes because they
cannot be direct threats to the US. But Japan cannot stand this threat.
Most of the Japanese feel betrayed by Bush. I hope that this diplomatic
fiasco would not bring about the threshold for Japan to drive away from
the US strategically and militarily.
Wait, Ban Ki-Moon is still alive?
That was well put, Mr. Marmot. NK’s report does not include information on its existing nuclear arsenal or its uranium enrichment program, so it’s essentially worthless.
The norks were probably involved in Syria’s nuke program as well, so they not only get rewarded for nothing but aren’t being called out for that at the 6-party talks. KJI seems to have a charmed life for a guy who runs one of the most f’ed up countries on earth.
This is a disgraceful betrayal by America, of Lee Myung Bak, precisely at a time when he’s taking a huge political hit over his toughened North Korea policy to forge a closer relationship with America. South Korea’s relationship has worsened with Norh Korea because Lee’s government got tough on North Korea. So what did the last 10 years of wrangling between South Korea and the US over North Korea accomplish? So why didn’t Bush just work with Kim Dae Jung and Roh Mu Hyun and give the North Koreans what they wanted from the beginning instead of criticizing South Korea and giving the South Korean leftists a rallying point?
So now Bush just wants to wash his hands of everything.
I just watched Selihg Harriosn on PBS. Of course he is happy but blames Bush for “us” getting into this jam in the first place.
Bush has been critized for being a “cowboy” in foreign policy matters and when he joined the six party talks he was critized for THAT too.
Can we pack our military bags and leave now?
At least it’s steaming cr4p… One always hates being handed that day-old stuff that the other guy rejected…
like i’ve said on other korea related blogs…
KJI is a fricking business GOD!!!
Stanford MBA? UCLA Anderson MBA? Wharton MBA? Harvard MBA?
WHAT FRICKING EVER!!!!
i want to go where KJI was schooled.
not only does he not show up for meetings, but he has his cronies pull off deals where he does nothing and gets everything he wants.
you can’t even measure that when you start off with 0% and end up with everything you’ve ever wanted.
free food, free oil, free guarantee of your rogue regime…..for nothing.
and you even have the balls to present a dossier with uranium on it.
absolutely magical.
mugabe, yusuf, the generals in burma, etc. AIN’T GOT NOTHING ON KJI!!!!!!!
Another U.S. admin diplomatically defeated by North Korea. Next!
There is no potential for change in the NK regime and situation until Kim JongIl dies.
Robert,
Since I am new to this blog..many probably already commented but I like to trust our government (although GW Bush and Cheney personally loath KJI) finally understand how to deal with NK. Christopher Hills is the best we have and this negotiating process of having NK did this and then we will giving that..is a long winding one. Mr. Hills himself made that clear but media never bother to point it out…
This whole thing I like to belive is act of feeding NK the rat poision (paraphrase Korean) so KJI regime could die slowly. This rat poision naively puts it is to get NK open its door through capitalism, prosperity, give up arms sales to Syria etc etc. By leaving NK collage on its own will invite China to fill the vacuum NOT unless anyone here belives NK trusts Korea and US more than China. Highly doubted!! Therefore it is our interest to feed this posion (do so at paying for it)
I also belive Clinton deal was much better but because neocons decided to break it (light water reactor for one)we are left to pay for the “liquidated damage”
Yesirree, the wonders of ass-kissing, er, diplomacy when dealing with such a trustworthy guy as KJI. Wow, how could anyone have foreseen that the US would get conned out of its shorts on this one? I agree with Robert, the US should have left this steaming pile of crap known as North Korea to the Chinese and the South Koreans to clean up. What a disgusting display. Did the hardline approach accomplish anything? No, but what has diplomacy achieved?
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