N Korea dominates Apec summit

[Jorje Bzsch]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3206990.stm
The US has hinted at a new solution to the stand-off.

President Bush, on the third leg of a six-nation Asian tour, was upbeat on the subject during talks with Mr Roh.

"We're making good progress on peacefully solving the issue with North Korea," Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush and Mr Roh issued a statement calling on North Korea to resume talks on the issue, and "refrain from any action which would exacerbate the situation".

On Sunday, the US leader ruled out the formal non-aggression treaty with the North that Pyongyang is demanding, but hinted that there may be room for some other form of written security pledge.

Expanding on Mr Bush's comments in a speech to business leaders on Monday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would spend the next few days and weeks fleshing out US proposals to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis with America's allies.

[Jorje Bzsch]

1. Why double standard when US dealing with Muslim countries.

Good Terrorist!!!
Bad Terrorists!!!!
Good Terrorists, Bad Terrorists: How Washington Decides Who's Who

The U.S. State Department has included Colombia's two leftist guerrilla groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), on its annual list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) for the past four years. This year it also listed the right-wing paramilitary organization, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), as a terrorist group.

However, unlike the two guerrilla groups, the AUC was not included on the FTO list, but rather on a secondary list that, according to the State Department's acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Edmund J. Hull, means the AUC's activities have "caught our attention and caused us to look more closely at this organization." Consequently, the AUC is not subject to the same legal sanctions that apply to the FARC, the ELN and other groups included on the FTO list.

The State Department's Patterns of Global Terrorism 2000 report was released last week and the inclusion of the AUC finally acknowledges what human rights organizations and even the State Department's own annual human rights reports have stated for years: the AUC is responsible for the majority of civilian massacres and human rights abuses in Colombia. The AUC was also included in the report for its involvement in kidnapping and the drug trade.

-snip-

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA

EDITED BY ADMIN FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS

[jcgadfly]

2. This was the mistake I believe Iraq made

When Iraq was accused of having WMDs, they said"No, we don't.". As a result, they got bombs dropped on them and an invasion force sent in.

When Bush accused North Korea of the same thing, they said, "Damn straight we do! If you don't want a good, close look at them, you'll leave us alone!" North Korea got appeasement and possible security agreements as a result.

Could the difference have been something as simple as one nation standing up to the bully and the other one not?