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You won't be reminded of this in the Main Stream Media: Former President and ex-Clinton envoy to North Korea Jimmy Carter, on CNN, June 22, 1994 (shortly after his dealings with North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung):
CARTER: What the North Koreans were waiting for was some treatment of their exalted leader with respect and a direct communication. I didn't have to argue with him. When I outlined the specific points that were the Clinton administration's position, I presented them to him. And with very little equivocation, he agreed. I think it's all roses now. I've known that there were people in Washington who were sceptical about any direct dealing with the North Koreans. They were already condemned as outlaws. Kim Il-sung was already condemned a criminal.
Question: Are you absolutely convinced that the North Koreans are going to honour this agreement, that while talks are going on that it's not just a matter of buying time on the part of the North Koreans, that they will not secretly pursue the nuclear program they were pushing earlier?
Carter: I'm convinced. But I said this when I got back from North Korea, and people said that I was naive or gullible and so forth. I don't think I was. In my opinion, this was one of those perfect agreements where both sides won. We should not ever avoid direct talks, direct conversations, direct discussions and negotiations with the main person in a despised or misunderstood or condemned society who can actually resolve the issue.
Now if I were at CNN (God forbid), I would get Carter on the air and play back that interview multiple times.
This Election is about whether you are a serious or frivolous person
The Straw that Broke the Burqa
15 hours ago
You left out the most important part. The North Koreans were working with the US, until the Bush administration backed out. Jimmy Carter's agreement was working.
ReplyDeleteThis is disinformation. There is a reason why the North Koreans built nukes now. They see this as their only real defense from the US.
It's as if the Bush administration wanted North Korea to build nukes, to keep Americans afraid - and keep tax money flowing to the military industrial complex. But, why do we need to be afraid of them? We could vaporize their whole nation. The reality is; they are afraid of us. It only makes sense, after the invasion of Iraq.
Respectfully, Mr. Spilsbury, the North Korean march towards the bomb started back in the 1970's, they didn't just produce the bomb in the last six years. The Clinton administraton provided them with nuclear reactors! And other "incentives" not to proceed. All the while they continued developing the bomb while selling the Clinton folks a bag of goods. If you do not see that the North Koreans are a Stalanist totalatarian state with concentration camps, and a starving population living in abject poverty than there is nothing that I or anyone else can do to help you see the light. Even the most naive leftist in this country think it's a bad idea for such a regime to posses the bomb,and don't try to "uderstand," explain away or support the idea of a nuclear armed North Korea. You are way, way out of any mainstream. Fortunatly, you live in a country that tolorates your opinion no matter how misguided.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to make a couple of things clear. I do not support, in any way, the North Korean government. I find nuclear proliferation, even of nuclear power technology, as a very bad trend. And I don't believe that the Clinton administration was above reproach. However, I do want to remind you that some people in this country will make millions, if not billions off of the fear of a North Korean planet.
ReplyDeleteBack when the Soviet Union fell, Americans all expected a peace dividend from lower Defense spending. It never came. And there are multi-millioniare "Defense" contractors who are glad it never did.
You can blame this on Carter. And you can blame this on Clinton. But, the obvious truth is that this happened on Bush's watch. The Manhattan Project was accomplished in less time than Bush has been President. I know spin when I see it.
Instead of laying blame, we need to be working together to keep the corrupt military/industrial complex from fooling us into even another war or military build up.