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Previous Entry | Main | Next Entry March 07, 2003 Clarifying Korea I'm breaking with Josh on this one. As I posted last night, I think there is a policy with Korea. There is some evidence pointing to it now ( here, here and here.) Of course, Bush can't say there is a policy for domestic reasons. Mostly because the policy is a hybrid of Clinton's: appeasement (I mean negotiations) and quid pro quos. What we're seeing are tentative steps at CBM (confidence building measures). There's clearly some under-the-radar diplomacy and supposedly another meeting between US and North Korean diplomats has been planned for mid to late March. It might just be an embryonic policy. This is good news. As much as I dislike this administration, I do not want to see it fail in Korea. That would be very, very bad. Posted by Sean-Paul @ 03/07/2003 11:17 AM | TrackBackComments: yeah.. he is just spewing the Democratic line.. "no policy, nKorea is more of a threat than iraq.. blah blah blah." Posted by: WD on March 8, 2003 09:16 AMIt's negotiations with a harder negotation tactic. Less carrot, more stick, as they say. That seemed clear from the beginning. Whether that will be worth it at all in the negoatiations is another story. But a smaller amount of aid is still a shift in policy. It's just a shift on the margins. Posted by: John Thacker on March 8, 2003 05:20 PMAnd besides, that the DPRK continued their nuclear research program under the Agreed Framework certainly decreases the expected benefits from any negotiations. It's only reasonably to attempt a shift in negotiating tactic, especially if, as it seems, no agreement will actually get the results that the US wishes, at least without more threat. Posted by: John Thacker on March 8, 2003 05:23 PMHere's some cheery news:
If Bush is doing low-level stuff with Korea, he's a fool not to find a way to let it be known. Instead, he's getting hammered on the issue and routinely presented as a boob. I'm not sure what any sort of negotiation would accomplish. DPRK isn't reliable, won't abide by any terms, and is only seeking to hobble US military options. Moreover, everybody talks about reunification of the peninsula, but what might this 'unified' republic look like? Jung Il is certainly not going to give up power, and I can't see SK agreeing to any sort of framework under which the DPRK's systems play a predominant part. So what's left? Post a Comment: |