North Korea tentatively agrees to disarm. Congrats Bush & Rice!!

See what diplomacy gets you?
And if it works out, Bush and his administration deserve the credit.
I ain't got no problem with that and I'm as liberal as they come.

 

This could all be in Kim Jong's plot to take over the solar system.

 

Kim Jong wants Uranus! Run!

There's a REALLY bad joke that just popped in my head unrelated to the previous sentence. Not sharing it, though.

 

Is there a difference between "most" and "a lot?"

I voted for some, as there were other nations involved, and China played a large role in this agreement.

 

Upon further consultation with his Radiant Cadre For International Atomic Negotiation, the Divine Blossom and Glorious Leader Kim Jong-Il decides to tread a different path with The Imperial Powers Of The Decadent West.

 

What would you have had Clinton do, exactly? Send in weapons inspectors? Monitor their efforts? He did both of those, as did the president before him and the one before that one. And that's exactly what this president and any future president will do, because that's all they can do.

I'll give anyone here TREMENDOUS odds on Illy pulling this same shit before the next president finishes his first term.

It's his only chip and he'll keep using it.

 

Offer him the boxed set of MASH and Alan Alda's autograph.

 

Sure there is (and people fault me for my English skills???)

Ok think of it like this:

None = 0% credit (or maybe like 0-5% negligible)
Some = 0(5) - 33% credit (think 25%)
A Lot = 33-66% credit (think 50%)
Most = 66% or more credit (think 75%)

I voted for "a lot" of credit but was weighing a vote for "most". In the end I could not support that vote and "a lot" seems like the correct vote to me.

Why?

As you rightly point out (and why I think this time could be different with NK) is other parties are in the mix (notably China) and they are putting major pressure on NK.

Here is what went down. We put pressure on NK more or less alone for a while as part of Bush's Axis of Evil thing (NK was involved with Iran, etc. screwing up our stuff in Middle East among other problems).

We also would not give into their (and many on the left's calls for) unilateral talks with us (as that would have went nowhere (props to Rice and Bush for knowing this and standing firm). It was always going to take pressure from countries in the region or war to deal with KJI.

We started flying over his country, pushing UN inspections, talking more to South Korea, China, & Japan about stuff, making threats, pushing forward & testing the latest missile defense systems - this pushed KJI to get real dumb and go too far.

A few missile shots into the Sea of Japan and a Nuke test later and China & Japan have seen enough (as had we with their attempted 2 stage rocket that was trying to reach Alaska).

China can't afford for Japan to go nuclear and they won't sit back with the crazy dictator any longer. Having been the only country hit by nukes they take it seriously. We of course continued to keep up the pressure and here is where we are.

NK is on the brink and China can cut off their supplies (oil, etc.) when it wants as they control the rail lines into NK.

Also, I think KJI sees that Saddam is dead and we have carriers moving into the position for Iran if needed. Some dictators like Qaddafi ultimately are not as dumb as they look. Add a little sweetener and you can see how a deal could happen.

In the end let's hope that KJI likes leading and living like a king more than he likes trying to blow anyone up.

That is the best read of how this broke down from the outside till we have more info.

 

I am sat in my companies office in Seoul, South Korea right this minute. Rumour has it that on the top of this building (which is apparently one of the best and most expensive office blocks in Seoul) is a missile launcher ready just in case the nut bag in the North goes a little crazy. I can honestly say that the news regarding the potential nuclear disarming in the north has barely made the slightest mark on the consciousness of anyone in the office. The most animated response I could get was "well we've heard it all before", followed by "All that will happen is he (Kim Jong Il) will get all the ridiculous oil and energy demands he is making let things settle down and then secretly start his work again."

I arrived here last Thursday from Tokyo and I fly on to HK this evening. In my short stay here I have found the people of South Korea or (Seoul to be more precise) to be one of the most remarkable groups of people I have met. Everyone is friendly, everyone appears to be happy. There is little if any evidence of poverty in the city centre and everywhere is so clean. Everyone appears at least on the surface to be equal, definately a contrast to Tokyo where there still appears to be a certain humbleness displayed by the female population.

Perhaps the most interesting comment I have heard from different people in Seoul is that the population in North Korea are exactly the same as they are in there outlook and philosophy of life. They are just run by a very differing regime.

With regards to Bush and his influence over all of this I would say he deserves only some of the credit. This is 3 years worth of a 6 nation discussion process with North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the US. The key to this process and the most influential participant in this process are the Chinese. After all they can literally just turn the lights off on Korea if they so wish to do so.

 

did you get you nails done?

 

Better than yesterday, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

No but I got a great massage!