Jack Pritchard writing for the NYT: "...an indictment of United States intelligence as well as a potential epitaph on the Bush administration's failed policy in North Korea."

Mr. Pritchard was one member of the unofficial American delegation that recently visited NK, and discovered that the 8000 nuclear fuel rods were no longer in storage at Yongbyon. This is not a surprise to me, but it apparently is to him. This is odd, since he presumably had access to considerable classified information which I don't get to see. More odd is the 'indictment' of US intelligence; he ought to know how intel works.

The Bush policy on NK is no more, or less, a failure than the policies of any of his predecessors. If anything, it is a natural evolution from that of Pres. Clinton's. Clinton tried to engage them; the result is an intel estimate of at least two nukes in NK hands (note: by 'result' I do not intend a rebuke of Clinton's policy, which I supported at the time. Merely an observation). Bush is also trying to engage them; but he’s holding them to a much higher standard than Clinton did.
Clinton tried to hold the status quo in Korea in the hope that NK would behave. They didn’t. This is the first thing: NK cheated. They started it. Pritchard and people like him seem to want to go back to that position, but it isn’t there anymore. Further, they seem to think that negotiations are some kind of panacea. Note: we are negotiating. We're just not sitting around the same table.

More later. If I can come up with it.



- posted by Dactyl @ 8:55 PM