Wednesday, August 05, 2009
North Korea Watch: How Did Bill Do It?
According to this, former President Clinton succeeded where his wife, and the rest of the Obama administration failed, in that he could afford to beg.
Of course, the fact that North Korea actually got nothing out of the deal besides Clinton's visit is still too much for hawkish critics.
However, North Korea received nothing out of the deal aside from the intangible quality The Heritage (Heritage of what? Chestbeating?) Foundation calls "affirmation."
In large part because Bill Clinton did what no Obama administration official could: go to North Korea with hat in hand to retrieve the journalists. Such a visit by a senior administration official would perhaps give up too much leverage when issues like Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program remain on the table.
Of course, the fact that North Korea actually got nothing out of the deal besides Clinton's visit is still too much for hawkish critics.
Critics say Bill Clinton's visit only rewarded North Korea for its recent provocative actions.
"I think it is quite a concession to North Koreans. North Korea craves affirmation, especially a high profile former president of the united states," said Peter Brookes of The Heritage Foundation. "Some people would say this is actually rewarding bad behavior."
However, North Korea received nothing out of the deal aside from the intangible quality The Heritage (Heritage of what? Chestbeating?) Foundation calls "affirmation."
Labels: north korea
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
