Posted on 08/11/2009 2:35:14 AM PDT by Scanian
LAST week, I speculated about what "ransom" the Obama administration may have had ex-President Bill Clinton promise to win the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee from the North Korean regime.
It didn't take long to learn at least the first concession. President Obama has broken with past US policy to agree to bilateral talks with North Korea -- a diplomatic plum that Kim Jong Il has sought for years, and a major coup in his attempt to nail down the succession of his 26-year-old son, Kim Jong Un.
While the administration maintains that Clinton (in the words of National Security Adviser James Jones) "passed no official messages and made no promises during his mission," it appears, as columnist Charles Krauthammer noted, "We are for the first time in memory hearing the truth from North Korean news agencies and lies from the White House."
Of course, the handover of hostages Ling and Lee had clearly been negotiated before Clinton left for Pyongyang. It's thus entirely possible that White House negotiators had offered bilateral talks in advance, with the offer affirmed in Clinton's three-hour meeting with Kim.
Jones reinforced this in comments to ABC News, saying, "We have coordinated all of this by the way with the other allies -- the Chinese, the Russians, the South Koreans, the Japanese." In fact, genuine coordination would require considerably more diplomacy than could be mounted in the days since Clinton's return. So it's most likely we simply informed those "allies" of a fait accompli -- a slap in the face for our actual allies (South Korea, Japan), and cause for triumphal smiles for the Chinese and Russians.
Russia and China have already successfully tested Obama and found him wanting. He has already taken human-rights and dollar-exchange-rate issues off the table with China.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
It’s a sad day when you believe the North Koreans and not the White House.
For a second there, I thought it said the author’s last name was “Cthulhu”
The real unanswered question is, “How much did the North Koreans give Clintoooooooon for his Library & Massage Parlor in exchange for Billy making this trip?
I knew Clinton promised something hugh. A promise not to attack also? How much real money changed hands Mr. Secretary of State?
What kind of plum is that, where, a fourth rate dictator negotiates with a third rate dictator.
Birds of a feather flock together --- it's not a great surprise that we would have trouble distinguishing Obama's actions from Kim's.
Note: The following text is a quote:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 18, 2009
Statement by the Press Secretary
on the meeting between President Obama and former President Clinton
President Obama today met in the Situation Room with former President Clinton for nearly forty minutes to thank him in person for undertaking the humanitarian mission to secure the release of two American citizens who had been detained by North Korea for over four months. Former President Clinton described the process, including a meeting with Kim Jong-il, that culminated in the North Korean leadership granting “special amnesty” to the two journalists and permitting them to return to the United States. President Obama said he was gratified that the Americans had been safely reunited with their families. After the meeting, President Obama invited President Clinton to the Oval Office to continue their conversation for another half hour.
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