The year was 1994, and I was a bright-eyed sophomore majoring in Political Science and Asian Studies when the Clinton Administration signed the Agreed Framework with North Korea. It was a simple plan. North Korea would remain party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (i.e. it would not develop a bomb), and it would submit to an IAEA inspection regime to ensure compliance. In return, the U.S. would pony-up heating oil and economic aid so the North Koreans wouldn't freeze or starve to death, and we would pledge not to attack them with nuclear weapons so they wouldn't turn to ash and blow away or glow in the dark with permanent orange afros.

Things were about as normal as they could be when dealing with North Korea until 2003 when the Bush Administration - fresh off of declaring North Korea's membership in the Axis of Evil - decided it would try to out-crazy Kim Jong Il, and flushed the Clinton-era framework down the toilet like a Koran in Camp X-ray(no credible evidence, my ass). North Korea promptly withdrew from the NPT. Thus began Bush's post-Iraq foreign policy Big Top Adventure/damage control operation now known as the Six-Party Talks. The plan was to partner with everyone else in the neighborhood - South Korea, Japan, Russia, and China - and pressure the North into ceasing production of weaponized nuclear materials. By last October - after multiple breakdowns, false-starts, and a rousing game of slap-ass and touch-dick - North Korea had successfully tested its first nuclear weapon.

Today, after several years of unmitigated failure, the Bush Administration is declaring victory. Apparently its first in any arena (what, no banner?). The new agreement is much better than the Clinton-era framework, and has the official BushCo seal of awesomeness! In the new deal the North Koreans get even more oil and more aid than before, and the added bonus of normalized relations with the U.S. which allows all kinds of money to be made by multinational corporations on both sides of the crazy curtain. In return, the U.S. gets the international inspectors we used to have before the 2003 bout of uncontrolled diplomatic diarrhea and vomiting re-admitted to North Korean nuclear facilities. Oh, and they have the bomb.

So yeah...breathe deep and taste that victory. Thanks again, George.

Labels: Kim Jong Il, North Korea

You may have already heard the tale of an east German retiree who breeds giant rabbits the size of dogs. But he's in the news again having been asked by North Korea to set up a rabbit-livestock farm in the food starved, communist country.

I'm not sure if anyone involved has seen "Night of the Lepus," but it might be worth a bit more investigation.

Fear them. They are coming. via

Labels: North Korea

It's true. The end times are upon us. The Bush Administration has opted to negotiate with Iran. Negotiate! And this comes just a couple of weeks after the shock and awe administration offered to return to the table with North Korea. The first seals have already broken, but it's not too late!

Some suspect the administration - which refused to denounce rumors of a planned pre-emptive strike on Iran even after British Foreign Minister Jack Straw called such plans "nuts" - is offering to negotiate now in expectation that Iran will balk at U.S. demands. Should this happen the U.S. will have the upper hand with Russia and China in future U.N. Security Council proceedings concerning Iran.

If indeed this whole "diplomacy" thing is a red herring to pressure the other Security Council members into acquiescing to a military strike on Iran we'll know that we're safe. Because the day this administration starts listening to the career analysts, intelligence professionals, and diplomatic corps regarding foreign policy instead of blindly pursuing a faith-drunk global strategy of benevolent dictatorship...on that day Hell itself will have frozen over.

Labels: iran, Jack Straw, North Korea

From Fortune, via Metafilter:

Rummy's North Korea Connection

What did Donald Rumsfeld know about ABB's deal to build nuclear reactors there? And why won't he talk about it?

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld rarely keeps his opinions to himself. He tends not to compromise with his enemies. And he clearly disdains the communist regime in North Korea. So it's surprising that there is no clear public record of his views on the controversial 1994 deal in which the U.S. agreed to provide North Korea with two light-water nuclear reactors in exchange for Pyongyang ending its nuclear weapons program. What's even more surprising about Rumsfeld's silence is that he sat on the board of the company that won a $200 million contract to provide the design and key components for the reactors.

Remember kids, profits increase when US body bags are waiting in the wings...

Labels: Donald Rumsfeld, North Korea

North Korea accuses South Korea of resuming propaganda by loudspeaker at the DMZ in violation of a historic summit agreement between the two nations in 2000.

Additionally, the North alleges the current US-South Korean annual military drills were deliberately "timed to coincide with the US attack on Iraq." They believe this is an indication of US plans to initiate a pre-emptive strike on its nuclear facilities.

North Korea, Iraq, and Iran were identified by President Bush as the "Axis of Evil."

The US has ignored several opportunities in the past few months to engage North Korea diplomatically. It is the Bush administration's policy to encourage other Asia-Pacific nations (Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia) to take the lead in dealing with (i.e. paying-off) North Korea. North Korea refuses to deal with anyone but the US, and insists that a non-aggression pact be a major part of any such dealings.

This situation will get worse before it gets better.

Labels: North Korea

The United States continues to ignore diplomatic options in its handling of the North Korean problem. Time and again our administration has ignored pleas from the international community and policy experts within our own government to engage North Korea in a meaningful dialogue before the situation escalates beyond non-military resolution.

Today, as the U.S. makes the most of the North Korean intercept of one of our reconnaissance planes - which is a much more common occurrence than most of the American public likely realizes - the administration has further isolated North Korea by deploying long range bombers to Guam.

Add this to the fast track deployment of an untested missile defense system on our west coast, and the administration’s long term policy plans for the region begin to come into focus. But there’s something here that just doesn’t sit right for me: Guam.

I understand that these are long range bombers, but why Guam? Why not Japan? Hell, why not South Korea? If the administration is honestly attempting to intimidate North Korea into compliance with the non-proliferation treaty while refusing to debate a non-aggression pact, why not put those bombers right in North Korea’s backyard?

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

First, it may be that Japan doesn’t want to play host to these U.S. forces due to fears of North Korean retribution. This makes sense, but seeing as how Japan would probably be a target of North Korean aggression should a conflict occur anyway, I find it unlikely that Japan would refuse the back-up protection.

Secondly, it may be that the administration is sensitive to inadvertently touching off a conflict with an increasingly skittish North Korea by pushing too hard, too fast. Given the complete lack of subtly in the administration’s past policy calls, I doubt this as well.

That leaves us with a third possibility – the one I consider most likely: North Korea’s missile technology is much more advanced than our administration is willing to admit. If this is true, and targets in South Korea and Japan are within range, then Guam is the only place we can put our bombers.

This would also explain an unusual story from the Korea Times today that stated that a warhead launched in a North Korean missile test was found in Alaska. If true, this has dramatic implications for our current foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region.

I’d like to believe that the Alaska story is a bit of over-zealous reporting on the part of the South Korean press, but the Guam thing is really bugging me.

I sincerely hope that I am very, very wrong on this. If I’m not, and the administration continues on its present course, there will be a nuclear crisis in a matter of months. It doesn’t matter which nation is the ultimate victim of that crisis; it may be the U.S., it may be Japan or South Korea, it may even be North Korea itself. The bottom line is that it doesn’t have to happen at all.

Unless our administration pulls its head out of its ass, expect to become well versed in the economic consequences of fighting a two-front war in the very near future.

Labels: aei, Donald Rumsfeld, neocon, new american century, North Korea

For those of you on the West Coast:

Soon you will be safe and secure in your homes, your schools, and your shopping malls thanks to the Bush administration’s plan to bypass the testing and approval process for America’s missile defense shield. If you’re worried about having untested missile defense systems stationed throughout your cities – don’t. After all, Donald Rumsfeld says we don’t need no stinking tests!

This system is comprised of many, many little “friendly missiles,” which seek and destroy big “bad guy missiles.” Of course, without testing, we’ll never know how likely it would be for one of our “friendly missiles” to malfunction, and then seek and destroy the nearest “bad guy home,” “bad guy school,” or “bad guy shopping mall” in the area. Or will we?

This whole thing stinks. The Pentagon doesn’t even want this system, and our peers on the Pacific Rim (China and Russia) believe that the introduction of a missile shield can only serve to destabilize the delicate geopolitical balance in the area.

Since these systems are designed to take out missiles and not fuel laden passenger planes flown by terrorists, we know the missile defense shield is not meant to protect us from al-Qa’ida.

So that leaves North Korea. The starving, frigged, Stalinist wasteland who just happens to be capable of producing a nuclear weapon. Despite all the media fanfare, we’ve known about that capability since 1997.

North Korea has yet to field test an operational ballistic missile that could reach the U.S. (Much like we have yet to field test a missile shield that could protect the U.S.). Are they really a threat? You bet your ass. But that’s why we have diplomacy$.

We offered them an aid package as a bribe a few months ago. They rejected it. It might be worth noting that we offered them 90 Million in aid (notice the M there). That wouldn’t be enough to buy heating oil for one of their cities through the harsh winter.

We walked away from the table after that. In turn, they re-started their nuclear power plants. North Korea is about as cold as Maine, I can easily imagine attempting to live through the winter without heating oil or electricity. I’d last about week. Take away food and clean water…Well, you can see North Korea’s predicament.

Meanwhile, a hungry, freezing, armed North Korea watches the administration begin shoveling Billions of U.S. tax dollars onto ships bound for Turkey, Africa, and Eastern Europe – buying their support for our war in Iraq. North Korea is still in the cold after all these months. Yet instead of engaging them we shut them out with our missile defense shield. If we’re not willing to deal$ with North Korea now, then we will have to deal with them later.

Labels: Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, missile defense, national security, North Korea