U.S. security pledge for N. Korea(THIS IS BIG)

[TheReligiousLeft]

<http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/10/nkorea/index.html>
Such an offer -- to be presented at the next round of six-party talks -- would represent a major change in direction of policy for the White House in its dealings with Pyongyang to try and curb the North's nuclear ambitions during the 12-month stand off.

North Korea has repeatedly said it will not give up its weapons program until it has a guarantee the U.S. will not attack.

But the Bush administration, until now, has said it would not be blackmailed into any concessions and has demanded Pyongyang act first and dismantle its program.

What do all of you think about this? Has Bush backed down? Has he realized he can't bully the world? Or has he just decided to stick with killing people in the middle east? At any rate this is really big news!!!

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. I don't think I would bet the farm on a "guarantee" from the bush regime

If the regime has no scruples about lying to Americans, do you think they will be more reluctant to lie to Korea?

[PsychoDad]

25. Not to mention...

I'm not so sure the North Koreans would trust a promise from Bush. Maybe they would agree, but would they fully comply?

I doubt it.

[atreides1]

2. I Think It;s A Ruse

Maybe Shrub has decided that a war with North Korea would only destroy
South Korea, Japan, and the Phillipines, which are all within striking distance of North Korean missiles.

He could also be playing a little game, make North Korea calm by offering a non-aggression pact, and then launching a pre-emptive attack. The results would still be the same, that part of the world
would become hell on earth, but maybe with a surprise attack most of
the North Korean government would be wiped out, or maybe not.

Remember Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact, and we all know how that turned out.

[seaglass]

3. Yes, this is a major shift in policy. What comes of it

who knows.

Interesting, I thought a couple weeks back North Korea said that it would no longer accept Japan as a party in these talks.

[Spazito]

4. Any pledge from the Bush cabal is not worth...

the paper it is written on.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. I wouldn't trust the Lying Liars to honor ANY pledge.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. Will this be up for conversation

at a soon-to-be family reunion? </sarcasm>

"My folks have come up with models that span 80 years," Powell said, without citing examples. "We will explore ideas with our friends in the weeks ahead."

The WH recognizes that NK must be addressed before too much longer in order to gain recognition for the appearance os "being on top of things" before too many Dem candidates continue to answer questions about what they will do regarding NK. Sounds like more poll-jockeying tactics.

BushCo would probably love to just have NK continue with starvation and just get rid of this pesky nuisance. I still believe they have no conscience whatsoever when it comes to dealing with what they have previously described and discounted as a "saber-rattling dictator."

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Japan & S. Korea have been pushing Washington to offer NK a guarantee

the WH responding to pressure ?? I don't buy it
There's more to this than meets the eye
Well duuuh, Junior is in/(out of) Control !!

From the Article:

The Bush administration official said the U.S. decision on the security offer has crystallized in recent weeks through intensive inter-agency discussions following the Beijing talks, and is aimed at encouraging Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program in favor of better relations with the international community.

"The North Koreans made pretty clear they wanted this ," the official said. "They didn't talk that much about economic assistance. This is the one thing they asked for."

He said that the administration is reviewing old language from U.N. agreements and other security assurances the United States has offered to other countries.

Officials said the United States prefers that the North Korean security assurances be "multi-lateral," and that the White House is in the process of determining which of the six nations in the talks would be party to the guarantee.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly notified Japan and South Korea of the administration's decision during informal talks last week in Tokyo, the official said. Both Japan and South Korea have been pushing Washington to offer North Korea the guarantee."

[J B]

8. Note: This guarantee would be a pledge that...

...the President of the United States will not just wake up one day, call up the Pentagon, and say, "You know, guys, it's a good day to wipe North Korea off the face of the Earth."

Think, people. Saying the US won't do that... is considered a major concession.

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. This is the first time

in 2.5 years that they might do something that makes sense? Who woulda thunk it? Too bad if they had continued the negotiations for the agreement that Clinton had brokered, this particular crisis could have been easily avoided. Now we are right back to where Clinton left off.

Could this mean that W is shifting power from the neocons to the more moderate DOS? It's may be the only way that he can even hope to save his own butt.

If control of foreign policy shifts back to the State Dept. the world may be better off.

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. At least until some militia fundie wacko bombs the State Department

Claiming that "God", through the inerrant voice of His servant Pat Robertson, commanded him to do so. :nuke:

[TheReligiousLeft]

19. Kind of funny that way...

I have to say making WMD makes a whole lot of sense for NK considering they were labled part of the Axis of Evil. Of course what presidence will this set for Iran? Maybe 2 out of 3 of the AOE will end up with WMD... I guess we'll see.

[blackcat77]

9. Yes it IS big...

But it's totally under the radar. It was announced in the middle of the night here -- which admittedly is morning over there -- and on the weekend, seemingly to bury it as much as possible domestically.

I'm glad to see he's doing this. The talks needed to get off dead-center and now the onus is on the N Koreans to do something positive.

And to those who say that Bush can't be trusted, I'd respond that in this case, there simply is no viable military option that wouldn't end up with tens of thousands dead in S Korea anyway, so Bush isn't losing anything but face and the way the story's being buried, he's doing all he can to avoid that as well.

[lindashaw]

11. How do we juxtapose this with yesterday's announcement that...

we're going to get tough with Cuba? Maybe Cuba aggression is a smokescreen to temper the concession with North Korea.

on edit--it makes sense. Remember "The Thomas Crown Affair," where Rene says, "Oh, that's good. Create a stir over here so that no one will notice when you take a hundred million off the wall over there.!

Perfect!

[RainDog]

16. doyoueverwonder, blackcat77, and lindashaw...

I think you guys put it all together in the posts from you all that I just read one after the other.

yes, power is moving from the neo-con extremists to the Condi/Colin crowd...note Rummie's diss last week, too.

they have to do this, they realize, or they are totally lost.

however, they still have their lunatic base to satisfy, so the noise about Cuba gives them points with the "we assassinated Kennedy to invade Cuba" crowd (ahem) and distracts this same lunatic fringe from the overtures to No.K-- which wouldn't look manly man enough, since diplomacy requires an I.Q. above 60 and a knowledge of something other than brute force.

I hope it's not too little too late, because the whole No.K situation is dangerous for all of us.

however, I think the Bushies are too far out there on the fringe for them to be able to recover any credibility, and this will be seen and known as a capitulation when, if done earlier, it could have been sound foreign policy.

just another example of how bad they are for our country.

at least that's how I sees it.

[bahrbearian]

18. Our Miltary would have a tougher time with North Korea than Cuba.

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. USA made treaties with the Natives - to - Rummy shakes Saddam's hand

. . . USA's promises mean SH_T !!!

The WH has broken every promise and trust they ever made

And the sad part is

Even to their own voters and Taxpayers

Just My Dumm Canuk Observations

(someone care to let me know if I'm wrong here)

[teryang]

15. It's a valid analogy

It comes to mind every time I read these reports about the "negotiations."

[UpInArms]

13. wonder how long it will take for the

Moonie Times to run a denouncement of this?

Then the hardline will appear again as the Rev pulls *'s strings.

[teryang]

14. Somebody is going to have to come up with serious cash

...or this isn't going to work. Maybe one of the countries is eyeing the proceeds of IMF money. The North already owes the south huge sums.

North Korea is exceedingly desparate. N.Korea needed the fuel oil and the nuclear power plants we promised them not the bombs. Now all they are getting is a piece of paper. Since chimpy's violations of the last agreement were the cause of the current crisis, I doubt that a new piece of paper is going to resolve the issues unless N.Koreas power problems are solved and substantial material aid is provided.

The north has lost a lot of ground. The entry of the IMF into the discussion is like the visit of the undertaker to measure the victim for his box. Perhaps the communist regime will simple crumple if they are opened to foreign trade and development financed with IMF funds they can't afford to pay back.

[legin]

20. I hate this

The only reason Hitler signed the non-agression pact with Stalin was because Hitler wanted a free hand to attack France. He did not want to be looking over his shoulder worrying about the Soviet Union attacking him while he was engauged in France. Hitler could then strip troops from his eastern border and use them in France.

You don't stand up at the State of the Union Address and include North Korea in your 'Axis of Evil' and then later sign a treaty with them, cause it looks very weak politically. Reagan called Libya 'looney tunes' and he bombed them. He called the Soviet Union 'the evil empire' and did everything in his power to bring them down.

The only way bush* can get away with this is if everybody knows that all this means is that North Korea are not the next 'dish on the menu'.

[2cents]

21. I would think...

...Kim would insist to hear this "appeasement" from the horses mouth, publicly---we'll see.

[goforit]

22. Why would anyone trust W's signature on paper?

It is totally worthless!!!!

He is the biggest back stabber known!!!

[preciousdove]

23. Would anybody trust Bush to keep his word?

1

[rucky]

24. That's a Second-Term War n/t