lexico
後輩
- 22 Dec 2004
- 2,584
- 155
As much as the caricaturing is humourous, so is the effortlessly dignifying tone of acknowledging the failed policies of the hardliners and the belatedness of coming to terms with reality.
Bush shift helps yield N. Korea agreement
Sep 20, 2005 02 : 34 : 52 GMT / Source: Reuters
Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
Bush shift helps yield N. Korea agreement
Sep 20, 2005 02 : 34 : 52 GMT / Source: Reuters
Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
It has been pointed out "surgical removal" was pure bluff, not possible for the US given the unpredictable asymmetric reaction it might provoke in DPRK nuclear capability. It was used only for the musical effect, giving the impression of control and confidence. The conflict was no more an option for the US than for the DPRK."NUCLEAR ARMS DEAL REACHED"
In an agreement announced on Monday in Beijing, North Korea promised to give up its nuclear weapons program and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China expressed willingness to provide oil, energy aid and security guarantees...It is an important achievement for Bush, whose political standing has been weakened by continuing turmoil in Iraq, the Hurricane Katrina devastation and perceived threats from the growing nuclear capabilities of Iran, and North Korea...U.S. intelligence says Iran maybe a decade from acquiring atomic arms, but North Korea has boasted of a stockpile that experts estimate at nine or more bombs.
Why did it take so long to get to this point?
Notwithstanding the degree of devastation Hurricane Katrina left on south coastal areas, the governmental response came late and was inadequate. The burden of failure might have added to the extra tone of desperation genuinely conveying that the US really needed this to happen."PROBLEMS AT HOME AND ABROAD"
Facing crises with Iraq, Iran, Hurricane Katrina and North Korea, President George W. Bush has relied on intensive engagement and a formula he once rejected to finally make progress on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program...After years opposing direct talks with the communist state, turning his back on a 1994 agreement offering Pyongyang peaceful nuclear energy and refusing to provide incentives if the North abandoned nuclear arms, Bush endorsed an approach with those elements.
"A SENIOR DEMOCRAT'S ASSESSMENT"
"The Bush administration was right to reverse course on North Korea and stop letting ideology get in the way of results. This is evidence that hard-headed engagement offers greater hope of reining in the North's dangerous nuclear ambitions than the policy paralysis of the past several years," said Sen. Joseph Biden, senior Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
S.Korean president Roh's visit to Washington and Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's meeting with Rice made it quite evident as to what kind of incentives would be needed to bring about the positive change in DPRK."ABOUT FACE"
Bush's position has evolved since January. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has gotten much credit for a new U.S. realpolitik, but as Bush's former national security adviser, she was a major player in the old policy as well.
"I don't think anyone knows why the deal came together at this point," said Darryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association. "Maybe the president himself realized that his approach over the last four years has been an utter and complete failure."
Many hardliners have been moved out of the administration or into new jobs, like U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; those who remain to fight their battles privately and count on the North to ultimately renege on any deal.
A major force behind the agreement is chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill, a skilled career diplomat given far more flexibility to consider incentives and treat North Korea with respect, experts said.
A Republican source said a U.S. briefing for North Korea experts several weeks ago made clear Hill's "marching orders were to get a deal with North Korea."
A tough, but reasonable, and informed approach had to be creative to the last minute as Chritopher Hill had firmly refused to allow light-water reactors without DPRK's commitment at last week's talk, Friday 15.CHINESE INFLUENCE
Congressional sources said Pyongyang benefactor China weighed in heavily, warning its ally it would blame and possibly punish the North if it rejected compensation and security assurances in exchange for denuclearization.
In the six-party Beijing talks, Bush forged a unified front by adding China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, and won an implicit North Korean commitment to end its nuclear-related uranium enrichment and plutonium programs.
Pyongyang was promised any deal would be phased in on an "action for action" basis, not according to the initial U.S. demand that it denuclearize before receiving benefits.
"LAST MINUTE CHANGE, PROBLEMS REMAIN"
In what some experts consider a major concession, U.S. officials agreed to consider letting Pyongyang have light-water reactors for civilian nuclear energy, something the 1994 accord promised but Bush has long opposed.
But the officials insisted this was a "theoretical proposition" to be discussed only after denuclearization.
North Korea shot back that it would not forsake nuclear weapons until it got the light-water reactor, underscoring a key stumbling block.
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