Post-Gazette Editorial – 10/7/06

This page was last updated on October 11, 2006.

Korean rattle / The U.S. policy of no talks doesn’t help; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; October 7, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“North Korea’s threat to test a nuclear weapon is its latest move in the high-stakes dance the Communist state continues to perform with the United States and its Asian neighbors.

“U.S. perplexity and sputtering in the face of Pyongyang’s newest threat is the inevitable result of a nearsighted policy that makes doctrine of not talking to countries like North Korea and Iran.

“Even yesterday’s statement by the U.N. Security Council urging cancellation of the threatened test is likely to have little impact.”

[RWC] How can this be? <g> Why not get the PG’s hero Kofi Annan involved?

“What North Korea wants is direct dialogue with the United States. If the Bush administration agreed to sit down at the table with the North Koreans to discuss bilateral matters, the agenda would include the nonaggression pledge from the United States, which is most important to the North Koreans. After that could come the subject nearest to the hearts of the Bush administration -- North Korea’s dropping its nuclear weapons program.”

[RWC] What BS! What “is most important to the North Koreans” is getting the U.S. – or anyone else for that matter – to pay blackmail as the Clinton administration did. The North Korean leader may come across as a clown, but he knows full well the U.S. has no intention of attacking North Korea.

“Asians see the matter as a chancre sore on what otherwise is a region headed straight ahead on economic development and prosperity. They are not especially worried about North Korea’s rocket rattling: They know that in the end China, the real ‘muscle’ of the region, will not let North Korea rock the boat too sharply. Through its control of North Korea’s rice and energy supplies China retains the capacity to shut down Pyongyang’s little show.

“The other U.S. policy -- in addition to refusing to talk to the North Koreans -- that initially seemed to make sense was to try to force their neighbors to share the pain of trying to keep Pyongyang under control. That worked to a degree, but South Korea prefers a policy of killing North Korea with kindness and moving toward reunification.”

[RWC] At least the PG comment about South Korea’s position is correct.

“U.S. policy and the North Korean threat have put new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe between a rock and a hard place. Better relations with China was high on his agenda, but he probably would have preferred not to make a plea to China to stifle North Korea, the main subject of his first visit to Beijing tomorrow. On the other hand, he can use the North Korean threat at home to sell a policy of Japanese rearmament.

“Purely and simply, the United States needs to talk directly with North Korea at an authoritative level. The Bush administration has painted itself into a corner. By its own doctrine, agreeing to talk with North Korea now would appear to be a concession made under pressure. It could, however, start by sending an envoy the North Koreans respect -- former President Jimmy Carter, possibly even accompanied by former President George H.W. Bush or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- to open the door before sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Pyongyang.”

[RWC] Jimmy Carter? Is the PG serious? Lest we forget, Mr. Carter was a key actor in the Clinton administration 1994 treaty with North Korea. According to the treaty, North Korea wouldn’t build nuclear weapons in return for economic aid. In other words, we agreed to pay blackmail. As we know, North Korea began ignoring their commitments before the ink was dry on the treaty. I can pretty much guarantee the North Koreans would love to see Jimmy Carter again, though I’m not sure the North Koreans “respect” him anymore than anyone respects someone they’ve duped before.

Regarding Bill Richardson, he has spoken with the North Koreans. Staying on script, the North Koreans made commitments to Mr. Richardson they later reneged on.

“The U.S.-North Korean dance -- they rattle nuclear weapons, the United States refuses to talk -- has gone on far too long. It makes life difficult for China and Japan, which are important to America, and it can become dangerous. It just makes no sense.”

[RWC] Though it wasn’t true, folks like the PG liked to claim the U.S. was “going it alone” in Iraq and that was bad. We should rely on the judgment of the UN, Europe, et cetera.

When we push for multiparty talks with respect to Iran and North Korea, the same people bash the U.S. for not “going it alone.”

This idiocy would be funny if our lives weren’t in the balance.