U.S. Politics – Page 7

January 15, 2009

John Bolton Abducts Hillary Clinton, Assumes Her Identity, Nears Easy Confirmation Wearing Drag and Mask

First George W. Bush became Jimmy Carter, now this, at “Hillary Clinton’s” confirmation hearing: “Our goal is to end the North Korean nuclear program – both the plutonium reprocessing program and the highly enriched uranium program, which there is reason to believe exists, although never quite verified,” she said. Her vision of North Korea policy was much stronger in her written statements provided to Senator Richard Lugar before the hearing. “The new Administration will pursue direct diplomacy bilaterally and within...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

January 13, 2009

Obama Cabinet Watch

We have a few more signs to read in trying to perceive what kind of North Korea policy we can expect from the Obama Administration: – Predictably, North Korea is trying to hit “reset” in its negotiations with the United States, in the hope of exchanging the same yet-to-be broken promises for a whole new round of concessions. Having gotten pretty much everything it wanted from Chris Hill, all that’s left to demand is the establishment of full diplomatic relations....

U.S. Politics

December 16, 2008

Acta Non Verba

Ask your average near-bright intellectual and he’ll agree with the statement that President Bush had “made a big deal of” human rights in North Korea. Yet while Bush’s administration has managed to admit about 50 North Korean refugees, Europe has let in 1,400.

Europe/Refugees/U.S. Politics

November 23, 2008

Some Human Rights Updates

The Korea Times reports that a joint committee of the U.S. Congress has recommended that the government establish a special task force aimed at persuading the Chinese to stop repatriating North Korean refugees. On the less hopeful side, we still don’t have a clear idea of how much priority the executive branch is going to give this issue, and to phrase this gently, I don’t expect Hillary Clinton’s policies to be unduly influenced by sentimental considerations. The commission recommends appropriating...

China & Korea/Refugees/U.S. Politics

November 21, 2008

Obama Cabinet Looking Surprisingly Centrist and Responsible

The L.A. Times reports that Obama is seriously considering either Hillary Clinton or Richard Holbrooke for State and retaining the effective Robert Gates at Defense. We are already hearing the first sorrowful wailing from those for whom the highest form of patriotism is the emotional investment in America’s defeat and dimunition, in a way that is only coincidentally similar to the patriotism of its enemies. At least one of them had the deficiency of judgment to actually believe that Dennis...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Politics

November 14, 2008

And the lions shall lie down with the lambs, and there shall be good eatin’ for the lions.

I am not one who believes that Barack Obama is a closet Muslim or Trotskyite just waiting to fling open the republic’s gates to let the barbarians in, nor have I seen credible evidence that a significant percentage of the population ever really did. On the other hand, the significant percentage of the population wearing those creepy cultish idol-worshipping shirts will find the feet of clay in due course. I do believe that within the next several years — the...

Geopolitics/U.S. Politics

October 19, 2008

What Removing North Korea from the Terror List Means

If tomorrow’s Big Announcement from North Korea isn’t that the Great Leader has gone to the Great Meat Locker, it may well be that the North, having met with such stunning success at blackmailing the United States, will throw some new tantrum at South Korea. I would not credit the North with diplomatic genius for its success at isolating and blackmailing its enemies one at a time. The trick isn’t new. It seems more fair to credit us for the...

Appeasement/Asia/Diplomacy/Geopolitics/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics

October 8, 2008

Lee’s N. Korea Policy Will Be, as Lee Says, ‘Pragmatic.’

Suzanne Scholte has accepted the Seoul Peace Prize, offering this prescient comment in her speech: “When all the atrocities committed by North Korean dictators are exposed in the future, people will assess how adequately the Seoul government then responded,” said Scholte, referring to the current administration. “Consider the judgment of history.” [Chosun Ilbo] I’m hoping to have a guest post from a reader who was there. Warning: this post will now enter a stream of consciousness. You can already see...

Activism/Human Rights/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Politics

September 25, 2008

N. Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act Passes

Some preliminary details here, but some important differences of interpretation have already arisen as to the role of the Special Envoy. I may find some time to write about those later.

Activism/Human Rights/U.S. Politics/Uncategorized

September 16, 2008

Joe Biden Is Blocking North Korea Human Rights Legislation, and You Can Help Un-Block It (Update: Biden’s Staff Denies, Predicts Bill Will Pass This Term)

[Update: Not so, says Frank Jannuzi, who wrote in after I put up this post. According to Jannuzi, Biden has never blocked this bill and has never opposed the two provisions mentioned in the post below. As to the refugee provisions of H.R. 5834, Jannuzi says Biden supports them just as they are in the House version. Jannuzi also says that not only does Biden support a full-time Special Envoy with ambassadorial rank, Biden offered the amendment to the...

Activism/Human Rights/U.S. Politics

August 18, 2008

Dems’ N. Korea Platform Collapses Under the Weight of History and Logic

You’d think that with a cast of 300 foreign policy advisors on Obama’s team alone, the Democrats could find one who has some idea of who Roh Moo Hyun was, what he stood for, and what he would not stand against. The Democrats have rolled out their 2008 platform. Party platforms aren’t widely regarded for being repositories of substance. They’re better known dispensing crumbs to interest groups. When those interests conflict, they get resolved in the great unseen food chain...

Appeasement/Human Rights/Six-Party Talks/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Politics

August 13, 2008

Cheap, Guilty Laugh of the Day

U.S. Politics/Unintended Humor

August 12, 2008

If Jay Lefkowitz Falls in the Forest ….

A week after we learned that the North Koreans disinvited him from visiting Kaesong — something about which our State Department offered no adverse reaction — Lefkowitz has canceled a scheduled visit to Seoul as well. These events belie the sincerity of President Bush and even Chris Hill sporadically talking the talk on human rights again: They “shared the view that in the process of normalizing relations, meaningful progress should be made on improving North Korea’s human rights record.” This...

U.S. Politics

August 3, 2008

State Dep’t: De-Listing N. Korea as a Terror Sponsor Depends on Verification

I take some comfort in the fact that while I can’t believe a damned thing they say, neither can the North Koreans: Nuclear-armed North Korea cannot be removed from a list of state sponsors of terrorism unless it agrees to a comprehensive protocol verifying its atomic program, US officials say. There appeared to be a perception that Pyongyang would be automatically de-listed on August 11 after President George W. Bush announced on June 26 that he had notified Congress of...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/Terrorism (NK)/U.S. Politics

August 2, 2008

Senate Confirms Kathleen Stephens as Ambassador to Korea

[Updates below and in the text.] A couple of days ago, while traveling on business, I was informed that Sen. Brownback would lift his hold on the nomination of Kathleen Stephens to become Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. She was confirmed in a voice vote later that day. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to post about it. The Senate confirmed a new American ambassador to South Korea on Friday, after a senator dropped his objections...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Politics/Washington Views

July 30, 2008

Must-Read: Dan Blumenthal and Aaron Friedberg on Agreed Framework 2.0

What is interesting, though not stated in the article, is that Blumenthal is one of John McCain’s senior advisors on Asia policy. The article certainly doesn’t purport to speak for McCain, though it doesn’t seem far afield of his views. If McCain were elected, it suggests that both he and his advisors would want The piece begins with plenty of substantive criticism of where the Bush Administration has brought us, all of which is on the mark, but which you’ve...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics

July 25, 2008

Is State Backing Away from N. Korea’s Terror De-Listing?

If you want to know what I think, no. I think it’s posturing. But Yonhap catches some significance in these remarks that I had missed: “It’s a 45-day minimum notification, but we certainly expect, and we’re watching very carefully, to see20whether or not North Korea is going to come through on the essential issue, which is verification, and to act accordingly,” Rice said. “I just wanted to clarify it’s a 45-day minimum notification, not maximum.” Rice reiterated her skepticism about...