Score One For Pyongyang
June 26, 2008, Matthew Good North Korea has been removed from the auspicious “Axis Of Evil”. After handing over documentation regarding its nuclear practices to Chinese officials, the Bush Administration announced that it will be lifting key trade sanctions against Pyongyang. Of course, the North Korean regime still possesses a nuclear arms capability, and while their willingness to surrender information to the Chinese is seen by the US as a beginning, it is by no means an assurance that the North Koreans are going to abandon their possession of nuclear weapons full stop.
Mind you, they have said that are willing to ‘blow up’ the large cooling tower at their Yongbyon facility on live television. The irony, of course, is that the reactor at Yongbyon has already all but been disabled. In reality, the North Korean regime is getting somewhat of a pass, and that is something that should not be overlooked as it pertains to US led pressures with regards to the imposition of sanctions against the Iranians and their work through back channels to quietly support overt Israeli threats of preemptive military action.
Bush did say that the North Koreans will be monitored and that, in the future, as in - when he is out of office, renewed restrictions will be placed on them if they refuse to fully comply with the process of disarmament. But that’s the future. As it stands now, the United States is set to remove North Korea from the State Department’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism in 45 days, which will significantly ease trade sanctions that fall under the auspices of the Trading With The Enemy Act.
Who knows, perhaps Donald Rumsfeld is back on a board of advisors at some huge multinational that’s looking to do business with them. After all, he was a non-executive director for ABB, based out of Zurich, when it secured a $200 million dollar contract with the North Korean regime to provide the design and components for light water nuclear reactors prior to his becoming Secretary of Defense.
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I guess you can call it progress, at least north korea is talking to the chinese!
I suppose I’m just suspicious as is hinted about Rumsfeld or other “friends” of the bush admin.
Seriously, I wish the government would take a stance and stick with it. Especially since North Korea was one of the only things I really agreed with in the Bush foreign policy. But then again, we did have 2 wars against England and then suddenly became their ally and fought in 2 world wars besides them… so this isn’t surprising in the least.
(for those wanting to look into it, look at the help we gave Iraq in the middle of the 20th century, then you’ll see how the process really works)
what does N Korea get? World Bank Loans, lifting of trade sanctions. In return for: promises, plans, agreements, blowing up a defunct cooling tower. Sounds like a good deal (for them). I’ll bet Bush’s advisors told him, “but Mr. President, when they blow this thing up, it will be on every news channel and every front page!”
The “Thunderbirds” runway for war, revealed here in The Times this April, scared me when I first read it…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3822538.ece
…are they going to dismantle that too?
lifting trade sanctions. how thoughtful. now the North Koreans living outside of Pyongyang will have twice as much grass to eat.
Can’t wait to see them blow up a usless structure that is no threat to any one. Won’t mean anything, but man that’s gonna be cool to whatch. Kaboom!!!!!!
[quote comment="56841"]lifting trade sanctions. how thoughtful. now the North Koreans living outside of Pyongyang will have twice as much grass to eat.[/quote]
More like the government officials will get more whilst the commoner continues to live in abject poverty all the while being brainwashed that only the Pyongyang government is the only one who is “looking out for them.”
In other words, a dramatic, made-for-TV kaboom followed by more of the same in NK