Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee to be released

[Ivan Seeking]

The story is breaking just now.

Way to go Bill Clinton! Of course, it must have all been arranged already. He was only there a few hours.

[turbo-1]

Predictably, John Bolton is crowing about the Obama administration "rewarding" NK's bad behavior by sending a high-profile statesman to gain their release. He gives the impression that the neo-cons would prefer to threaten NK, and harden their resistance to releasing the journalists. Why do news organizations bother to interview that blowhard?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090804/pl_afp/nkoreausmediaclintonnuclearweaponsbolton;_ylt=AgqY 5ohqMcDZPkdcIH3AogCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNuNzJvcDRtBGFz c2V0A2FmcC8yMDA5MDgwNC9ua29yZWF1c21lZGlhY2xpbnRvbm 51Y2xlYXJ3ZWFwb25zYm9sdG9uBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRwdANo b21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDYm9sdG9uYm lsbGNs

[Ivan Seeking]

Predictably, John Bolton is crowing about the Obama administration "rewarding" NK's bad behavior by sending a high-profile statesman to gain their release. He gives the impression that the neo-cons would prefer to threaten NK, and harden their resistance to releasing the journalists. Why do news organizations bother to interview that blowhard?

Yes, we all know how well isolation worked out. :rolleyes: And we all know that the best way to handle a scared, wild dog, is to kick him until he starts to obey.

[Office_Shredder]

So Bolton says sending Bill Clinton will irreparably harm the negotiation process over nuclear weapons, then goes on to say such a policy is doomed to fail anyway? Basically, this was the right move?

[mgb_phys]

Predictably, John Bolton is crowing about the Obama administration "rewarding" NK's bad behavior by sending a high-profile statesman to gain their release.
Isn't SOP in this situation to secretly sell them them weapons in return for the hostages and use the money to fund terrorists in another country?

[turbo-1]

Isn't SOP in this situation to secretly sell them them weapons in return for the hostages and use the money to fund terrorists in another country?That was the Reagan model. Not that we've progressed much beyond that.

[mgb_phys]

That was the Reagan model.
So it was GOP SOP ?

[chemisttree]

Oh, Carter must have been livid! Doesn't Clinton know that bowing to North Korea's insane demands is the exclusive domain of former President James Earl Carter? How dare he!

[edward]

Interesting artice from Bloomberg:

The U.S., which doesn’t have diplomatic relations with North Korea, relied on Swedish Ambassador Mats Foyer to look out for the two Americans, arranging for delivery of medicine and mail, according to an administration official who briefed reporters after their release.

Lee and Ling eventually were allowed periodic calls to their families. In those conversations, they relayed information from their North Korean captors, which the families passed on to the State Department.

In mid-July, the official said, the two women shared some news: their captors would consider amnesty and a release from prison if a special envoy would come to Pyongyang.

The envoy they wanted was Bill Clinton.


Obama’s national security adviser, Jim Jones, worked to ensure that the offer was legitimate and would result in the journalists being released, the administration official said.

Jones asked Clinton during the weekend of July 24-25 if he was willing to undertake the mission. Clinton, 62, said he was.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCto8iwv7uaw

[mheslep]

To Ling and Lee welcome back to the Land of the Free, well done by frm Pres. Clinton. I'm happy to see them safe and sound, and happy to see action take to retrieve them. As far as we know no money or nuclear reactors were traded away to get them. Maybe the NK received some free publicity that we usually want to avoid, but at least in this particular case it seems to me churlish to huff and puff about giving NK some some sit down shots with Clinton. These ladies lives are worth at least that.

[mgb_phys]

giving NK some some sit down shots with Clinton. These ladies lives are worth at least that.
Seems an excellent use for an ex-president.
Congratualtions.