Robert Gallucci (former negotiator to giving NK nuke technology): It's not so bad to have bad healines if you get on the right course.
Ashton Carter: Six party talks aren't so bad. Reason to have everyone at the table is so everyone has a stake in the outcome. We don't trade with NK or recognize them diplomatically. There's almost nothing we can do short of military action we can do and we're capable of it. It makes sense to have 6 party talks but agree with colleagues that nothing has been produced so far but a quadrupling of nuke technology. There's a lot of blame to go around. The Chinese and S. Koreans haven't done everything they can. They've been unwilling to deal. On our side, it matters less who is at the table than that we have our own wits about us and we're divided about the 6 party talks.
One camp believes we have to give the 6 party talks a try. Another camp believes that negotiating with NK is immoral. I think it's more immoral to let them go nuclear.
Absolutely
One camp believes we have to give the 6 party talks a try. Another camp believes that negotiating with NK is immoral. I think it's more immoral to let them go nuclear.
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That was a great comment!
Very nicely said. Now, this next is not a disagreement with what you posted, but the first thing that came to mind on reading your post was a favorite quote:
"To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war." - Winston Churchill
Clearly Churchill wasn't against taking action when it is needed. That doesn't mean you abandon all other approaches, but you have to go through the process, lay the legal groundwork for any actions you take. Regardless of what Kerry, Murtha and Sheehan may bleat, our military action in Iraq was 100% legal and always has been. It was solidly and legally based on the work done not only by this administration but from the 12 years of diplomacy, going back to the cease fire agreement from '91.
I think the fuse is fairly short on this one, though. I'm predicting that the next step (and what the UN resolution being voted on tomorrow contemplates) will be a maritime exclusion zone around North Korea to stop any craft carrying war materials into or out of that country. That will completely dry up their only source of hard currency and will simultaneously cut off Iran and other's supplies of parts for their missiles, most of which were made from NK parts and plans. And NK is in the process of burning their bridges with China by seizing the trains used to ship food aid in from there (very bizarre action).
We darn well better have our military at full strength over there for sustained air and naval combat (probably not ground combat for now). That will take some time and may involve "selling" some assets to Japan and Taiwan, which itself becomes leverage on China.
This game is a complicated one, but I think Bush's team is exactly the right folks to be running this show.