U.S. journalists head home from North Korea

CNN ^ | 08/04/09

[TigerLikesRooster]

U.S. journalists head home from North Korea

(CNN) -- Two U.S. journalists who had been detained by North Korea were traveling back to the United States with former President Clinton hours after being pardoned, a Clinton spokesman said. President Clinton meets Tuesday with North Korea leader Kim Jong Il.

"They are en route to Los Angeles [California] where Laura and Euna will be reunited with their families," said spokesman Matt McKenna.

Doug Ling, Laura's father, reacted to the news outside his home in Carmichael, California, with, "One of the best days in my life ... I figured, sooner or later, they'd be back."

In Los Angeles, family friend Wally Yang said the Ling family had "done everything they could, while respecting the North Korean government, to try and get Laura home."

He predicted that Ling would remain a journalist. "Despite this terrifying experience, I can't imagine that Laura would give up her passion to tell stories that otherwise wouldn't be heard."

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[nuconvert]

Wonder if we’ll ever find out what the whole deal was?

[Jess Kitting]

"Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it," the news agency reported. "Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.

Is this merely North Korean propaganda, or is Clinton continuing Obama's "apology" tour?

[Pyro7480]

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the two female American journalists, far left, and second right, head to a chartered plane carrying the homebound former President Bill Clinton at an airport in Pyongyang, capital of North Korea Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. His mission accomplished, former President Bill Clinton left Pyongyang early Wednesday accompanied by American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the women from their 12-year prison sentences.(AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Binyang)

[vox_freedom]

Did they eat any of the scarce food while there?

[hoosiermama]

Thanks for all your pings...

[Carley]

To suggest that the rest of the world is unaware of the situation in North Korea, is ridiculous.

[darkwing104]

I wonder what North Korea is getting out of this deal.

[Ronin]

I don’t know, and to tell the truth, I don’t want to know. It’s enough for today that those ladies are out of that hell hole.

[GOPJ]

Well done, President Clinton.

[BGHater]

‘His mission accomplished, former President Bill Clinton left Pyongyang’

Lol. Slick sounds like Goku these days.

[JimSEA]

I'm glad they have been released and glad for their families. Regardless of who was paying their bills, they were reporting on a horrible abuse of humans that needs uncovered. However, I am afraid we have paid too high a price and one that is likely to cost many lives. Establishing talks directly with the North and giving the Clintons yet another shot at screwing thing us even worse this time as Obama is the appeaser in chief is not good.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Ling and Lee are reporters for California-based Current TV -- a media venture launched by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore.

ROTFL! Poor Slick Willie, pullin' his VP's chestnuts out of the fire again! Algore. What a loser.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Come to think of it, I wonder if those three Americans captured by Iran are also pawns for appeasement and apology trip by somebody from U.S.

Two American journalists wandered into NK and got caught. Three Americans wandered into Iran and got caught. Two coincidences? Or designed incidents as a FReeper suspected.

I am getting suspicious, too.

[garyhope]

Their parents must feel pretty good know that their daughters are in the good, safe and secure hands of Bill “Bubba”, “I did not have sexual relations with these two hot, young, voluptuous, Asian babes while on my plane” Clinton.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Hitlery may have somebody spying on Slick in the plane. I am sure she got her astray ready just in case.

[jwparkerjr]

If nothing else they've pulled a propaganda coup in that they can portray themselves as standing up to the mean ol’ bully the US and won by convicting the spies they sent over there. Then they can claim to be humanitarians by graciously pardoning the criminals. What a crock.

Anyone who wander near enough the border to happen over it by mistake, or close enough for the other side to grab them and claim a border incursion, deserves to be in jail. It's patently unacceptable for the US to be placed in the position of having to cow tow to a regime like this because a couple of ignorant ‘journalists’ didn't have enough common sense to stay out of trouble.

I'm glad they're coming home safely, but they deserve to be taken to task for their stupidity. What is there about liberal ‘journalist’ that lets them get blinded to the true nature and danger of these regimes in search of a story.

I would serve very precise notice on every journalist, real and would-be, that borders with unfriendly nations are no-man’s land and if you go there and get yourself captured you're on your own. Spare us the tears of your friends, family and employer. Consider yourself on notice.

[autumnraine]

Bubba: Well ladies... now that I’ve freed you, how you uh, freeing Willie?

[Mangia E Statti Zitto]

I actually caught myself thinking the same thing.