How the hostage release affects NKorean negotiations
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 1:27AM ARTICLE: In Release of Journalists, Both Clintons Had Key Roles, By MARK LANDLER and PETER BAKER, New York Times, August 4, 2009
ARTICLE: After Clinton Trip, U.S. Studies Signals From N. Korea, By MARK LANDLER, New York Times, August 5, 2009
Certainly a win-win for Team Clinton.
I thought it was funny (as reported here and elsewhere) that Gore was offered up and rejected. Kim probably couldn't stand the moral comparison (bit easier with tricky Bill).
But a perfectly good use for Clinton, who, other than Mandela, is arguably the most loved and respected international political figure out there (please spare me the emails about your own opinion on this one; I simply cite an outside-of-America reality) .
Does it signal anything WRT the DPRK?
I would be surprised if it did.
These two journalists were simply not worth the hassle, and so a face-saving exit was arranged after the propaganda points were exhausted.
The following scenario, if pursued, would put Obama on the same merry-go-round that Clinton and Bush rode: Kim manufactures crisis, demands payment, gets it, and then dissembles in resumed talks, only to see us ratchet pressure again, and then Kim goes for another manufactured crisis:
"They're going to expect us to take our foot off the pedal," said Victor Cha, who negotiated with North Korea in the Bush administration. "If China calls and says North Korea is willing to come back to six-party talks in Beijing if we relax the sanctions, this becomes a tough call."
I would expect Obama to be forced to make such a call. Will be interested to see if he bites like his predecessors always seemed to.
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