Bush & Pyongyang & denuclearising North Korea in limbo

Well, when you thought, Herr Bush had come to his senses on negotiating with Pyongyang, he reversed oars, leaving his promises in midair. He's learnt absolutely nothing in his 8 years in office. North Korea's style of negotiating is simple. You give x, we give y. Herr Bush's is you do what we say, and that's that. So, now Pyongyang has suspended closing down Yangbang because Herr Bush feels that it has fessed up enough to warrant removal from the list of terrorist nations and from the draconian measures of Trading with the enemy Act. 18Brumaire strongly suggests reading Mike Chinoy's excellent book on Herr Bush's long years of dealing with North Korea--'Meltdown'. In brief, it is an how to book on picking up a boulder and dropping it on your big toe. Ultimately, the US is going to have to return to a Clintonesque approach in dealing with North Korea. Thus, Chinoy's conclusion is quite to the point: Herr Bush has wasted 8 years in his approach to Pyongyang, and what's more, his ideological blind spot has elevated Kim Jong il's land to the ranks of a nuclear power. So much for being too clever by half. The dogs of war on the question of North Korea are straining at the leash; the standoff between Washington and Pyongyang now gives them hope to push for regime change, confrontation, and a further waste of time. It thereby allows Pyongyang to accelerate its missile technology which will cause its neighbours to not sleep well at night. There is popping of corks in right wing Republican circles these days, but we haven't seen the end of this sour diplomatic soap drama, and in 120 days, the world will see the backside of Herr Bush and his band of 40 thieves.