WSJ: Mr. Kerry's Diplomacy

Wall Street Journal ^ | October 7, 2004 | Editorial

[OESY]

One of John Kerry's claims to the White House is that his diplomacy would better control nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea than President Bush's alleged truculence. So it is newsworthy that a spokesman for Tehran's Foreign Ministry has just dismissed out of hand the centerpiece of Mr. Kerry's arms-control offer to the mullahs.

Senator Kerry has promised to provide a steady supply of nuclear fuel to Iran if it will dismantle its own atomic-fuel-making capability. But the New York Sun reports that Tehran spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi sniffed at the idea on the weekend, calling it "irrational" because "We have the technology and there is no need for us to beg from others." On Iran's present course, he's right.

The problem with the Kerry approach is that it is an arms-control illusion. Arms treaties can succeed between well-intentioned democracies, such as the U.S. and Canada. But they will never work to constrain the nuclear ambitions of an adversary determined to lie. We learned that the hard way with the North Koreans in 2002, when they unilaterally reneged on the Agreed Framework that the Clinton Administration had signed in 1994. For the rest of the 1990s we fooled ourselves that Pyongyang had abandoned its nuclear goals, only to discover later that it had two nuclear programs, not just one.

Mr. Kerry is now promising to negotiate directly with North Korea in hopes of signing another such deal. As it happens, within 48 hours of Mr. Kerry's one-on-one negotiating pledge last Thursday, the North Korean government called off all nuclear discussions with South Korea. It's pretty clear whom Kim Jong-il is waiting to sit down with.

[tomnbeverly]

Kerry is nothing but illusions... the magical spinning crystal hypnotizing the masses... Hopefully GW snaps his fingers and makes all of those hypnotized souls wake up.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Kerry's proposed "diplomacy" is tantamount to a parent telling a teenager "I'll give you all the weed you can smoke ... just don't start using crack."

[savedbygrace]

As it happens, within 48 hours of Mr. Kerry's one-on-one negotiating pledge last Thursday, the North Korean government called off all nuclear discussions with South Korea. It's pretty clear whom Kim Jong-il is waiting to sit down with.

That's gonna leave a mark.

[ClearCase_guy]

Q: Name two countries which John Kerry says are dangers that need to be dealt with?
A: North Korea and Iran

Q: Why are these countries so dangerous?
A: They either have, or are about to have nuclear weapons

Q: Why is that so bad? England has nuclear weapons, and we're not afraid of them.
A: North Korea and Iran are fanatical dictatorships that openly wish for the destruction of the US

Q: How will John Kerry deal with these nuclear threats?
A: John Kerry will supply both countries with nuclear fuel, if they promise not to act on their stated desire to destroy us.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

The problem with the Kerry approach is that it is an arms-control illusion. Arms treaties can succeed between well-intentioned democracies, such as the U.S. and Canada. But they will never work to constrain the nuclear ambitions of an adversary determined to lie.

I will never understand why this is so hard for the libs to understand.