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The Clinton Charade on North Korea
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by 158 | August 5, 2009 at 12:15 pm
77 views | 2 Recommendations | 3 comments
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Former president Bill Clinton went to North Korea and came home with reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, in a carefully preplanned and agreed upon charade. It is good the women are home rather than facing 12 years in jail. The price paid was to send the former president to a public meeting in North Korea with dictator Kim Jong Il. While this is a personal triumph for Mr Clinton it is a propaganda coup for Kim.
The Obama administration has played Clinton's mission as a private one with the only purpose to win the release of reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee who work for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV channel. They were captured by North Korea after crossing the border from China, accidentally they said, to spy according to the Koreans. They were arrested, tried and sentenced to 12 years at hard labor.
Al Gore has been working privately since the women were captured to make a deal to gain there release. Bill Clinton agreed to go only after North Korea privately assured the White House that the women would be allowed to return home with the former president if he personally met with Kim.Al Gore had planned to take the trip but Kim preferred the prestige of a former president over a former vice president.
Administration officials talked secretly with North Korean diplomats at the UN in New York and the Swedish ambassador to North Korea talked to the leaders there. An agreement on all details was agreed on before Bill Clinton left the US. To keep up the pretense of not negotiating with Kim Jong Il the administration has denied being involved in this trip.
Was this mission worth the price paid? Yes. The women are home and the US did not officially talk to Kim. Bill Clinton is seen as a hero. North Korea has already said that Clinton presented an apology to Kim for the border violation. There will be more propaganda coming from this but it does not really matter.
It was a good deal.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 12:22 on August 5th, 2009
Congratulations are due to those who made this release possible.
at 02:59 on August 6th, 2009
Why do you call it a 'Cherade' and then say that it was a good deal?
I have never been a fan of the former President until now. I think that he did a great service for not only the reporters and the USA, but for world peace. It is a great example of what can be accomplished by showing respect to other countries and their leaders. Americans in general have too little respect for titles and institutions. North Koreans find the concept of "face" (showing respect) to be a prerequisite to any negotiation or diplomacy. Gunboat Diplomacy does not work, but showing a little respect goes a long way. Negotiations have been at a standstill because the US was not giving North Korea what it really wanted all along, face, respect. Let us all hope that the Obama administration can follow up on this with further gestures that cost nothing in terms of National Security, but provide tremendous dividends towards reforming North Korea's attitude and actions towards the world and its own people.
at 11:04 on August 6th, 2009
It was a charade beause hey were hiding what they were really doing. It freed the two women without any real cost so it was a good deal.
I agree it is always better to talk to other nations, even enemies.
It is also usually good to show respect for others.
I hope Obama does follow up on this.