NBC's Today Despairs Team Bush Ruined Clinton Progress in North Korea

MRC ^ | 10-10-06

[Conservative Coulter Fan]

     As they padded for time waiting in the 9:30am half hour of Monday's Today for a live statement on the North Korean nuclear test from President Bush, NBC's Andrea Mitchell scolded that Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright were building reconciliation between North and South Korea, but Bush came in and ruined it, overruling his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, "cutting him off at the knees." Typically, Today co-host Matt Lauer insisted the North Korean nuclear test was just the latest in a string of bad news for Bush, from Iraq and Iran to the Mark Foley page scandal.

     [This item, by Tim Graham based on a transcript provided by Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Monday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Matt Lauer led into the Clinton-praising section: "Andrea, I have to say as David [Gregory] mentioned a second ago, when I was there a few years ago it was surprising to me that there is starting to be this communication and actual physical contact between South and North Korea. This, there's a super highway being built that really connects the two."
     Andrea Mitchell: "Exactly. Well that and the rail connections. All of this as the new Sunshine policy that David alluded to but that came right up against the Bush administration's decision to cut off the connections. You know Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright were progressing in October and November of 2000 towards the restoration of diplomatic relations and if the Democrats had won that election that probably would've happened. Colin Powell recommended very strongly as the new Secretary of State in 2001 that, that policy be pursued. But it was cut short in March of 2001 by President Bush, overruling his new Secretary of State, some people said, cutting him off at the knees. That was the first real setback for Powell and then telling South Korea, the South Korean ally on the first visit in March 2001 that they would not support, the Bush administration would not support, re-engagement with North Korea. So there've been a lot of starts and stops but as David was, was pointing out and as you point out the South does want to re-engage. They have every reason, politically, to want to do that but this is not something this administration has really been comfortable with."
     Lauer: "Alright Andrea thank you very much. Tim Russert is NBC's Washington bureau chief, of course, moderator of Meet the Press and let's talk about the timing of this, Tim. It's been a bad few weeks for the administration. We've got problems in Iraq that seem to be getting worse. We've had the situation with Iran and the whole UN situation a couple of weeks ago, then the, the page scandal and the email scandal in Congress and now the administration wakes up to this nuclear test from North Korea."
     Russert: "Well Matt it is very important issue. Obviously back in May of 2003 President Bush said, quote, 'We will not tolerate North Korea having nuclear weapons.' And so he has drawn the line and now three years later North Korea is very much testing George Bush. It is ironic when they tested their long range rockets it was on the Fourth of July and now they've chosen Columbus Day to undertake this nuclear test. So it's very much a symbolic poke in the eye at the U.S. basically saying, 'we're gonna do what we want to do and you said we couldn't, what are you gonna do about it?' And this puts the President in a very difficult position."
     Lauer: "Well what does he do about it? I mean what can he say today, what tone should he strike to send a proper message?"
     Russert: "Well if you talk to military people Matt, they believe that the war in Iraq is one that is very much a strain on our assets. I don't find any one who believes that, at this time, a military action against North Korea is something that is being considered in a serious way. I think the President's first attempt will be at sanctions and the difficulty there, of course, is getting China and other countries to go along with them and so I expect some very strong words, some strong rhetoric, if you will, as the administration tries to buy time and figure out exactly what to do."

     It's not exactly like the Clinton "engagement" strategy made them peaceful. Why can't NBC acknowledge that the North Koreans made a deal with the Clinton team, and then cheated on it? Oh, they did. David Gregory noted the cheating, and then moved on. A tyranny like North Korea's doesn't find it difficult to cheat, and yet still stay in the good graces of global public opinion, as Western reporters see only diplomatic and military paralysis as the options:
     "He wants his regime to stick around and he has sought, before, security guarantees from the West. And you go way back to 1994 and the Clinton administration they negotiated an agreement with North Korea that said basically, 'Stop your weapons program, cold.' And the North Koreans started cheating on that toward the end of a 10 year period. So then President Bush comes to power, doesn't like the idea of negotiating with the North Koreans because he doesn't think that they negotiate in good faith and they cheat. And so you had a kind of freeze on diplomatic activity and then all of a sudden you have the so-called Six Party talks where you had regional players including the U.S. and Russia putting that pressure on to say, 'You can't continue a nuclear program.' And then finally North Korea has just pulled out of that process as well. So there's been all of this dancing going on."

[popdonnelly]

I find it outrageous that these people get paid big bucks to sit in front of a TV camera and lie.

[KellyAdmirer]

Andrea Mitchell was on as a representative of the DNC?

[Doc Savage]

I keep hoping that Lauer one day wakes up next to a horses head! He's already a horses ass!

[xmission]

I never watch MSNBC, but it was on in the corner of a restaurant this afternoon as my wife an I got dinner. I can't remember the host's name, but he was talking about the issue where the school was giving out extra points to its students if they dressed like muslims. He actually said "they get extra points if they dress like muslims...whatever that means".

How braindead are these people?

[Orange1998]

I think Kimmy Boy made a huge calculated error this time. If we dismantled Iraq to find WMD, what do you think we will do to NK since we have proof of WMD. Credibility is at stake. All the sanctions in the world have not keep them from acquiring WMD.

[do the dhue]

Someone posted this earlier on a related thread...It's needed here

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716994/posts

(in that Movie announcer voice) If you liked Airplane ...

Naked Gun or Scary Movie

You are going to love another David Zucker film.

This time, it's true and funny.

Zucker'sstatement fits this thread perfectly.

[girlangler]

This is why I don't rely on news from the MSM anymore. They are too out of touch with reality, more like celebrities in Hollyweird than journalists.

Thank God for the internet, and the freedom to seek truth it offers.

[BigSkyFreeper]

North Korea ain't even abiding by the South Korean Sunshine Policy.

Instead of funnelling money, gas, oil and technology into North Korea as bribes, President Bush and Ambassador Bolton drafted what is called the Proliferation Security Initiative. Bill Clinton propped up North Korea, President Bush is tearing it down without firing a shot.

[jch10]

Watch CSPAN's Washington Journal in the morning. You'll see how stupid Americans are.

[stockstrader]

Once again, Bush is left to clean up the mess (no pun intended) that Clinton left behind. Bush inherited an absolute mess.

This applies to not only North Korea, but also Afghanistan, Iraq, the economic recession Bush inherited, corporate malfeasance, underfunding of our intelligence agencies and the military, and the WOT due to Clinton's dereliction of duty when it came to national defense.

But as Clinton said in his VERY OWN WORDS,

and I quote,

"I had the most fun of any President."

[MaineVoter2002]

Being tricked is "progress"? LOL

[stockstrader]

What are you talking about? BJ did a LOT in North Korea--more than anyone else in the world!

He helped to FUND their nuclear development with the 94 Agreement. The North Korean economy is bankrupt--yet Clinton gave them $4 billion in aid (500,000 tons of fuel oil a year, food and cash aid) while Kim was starving his people to death.

If not for Clinton's help (in return for their promise, yes PROMISE to NOT use that aid for weapons development)--North Korea could have never done what they did this fast.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, is more responsible for North Korea's nuclear weapons program than Bill Clinton.

Simply put, BILL CLINTON SUBSIDIZED IT, AND BILL CLINTON FUNDED IT!

[dr_who_2]

Mitchell: It just goes to show that Bush's legacy of decadent capitalistic imperialism will only eventually spell his doom.

Ann Curry: You said it, girlfriend! That reactionary pig needs to feel the full wrath of the perky proletariat come November! Oh, and Andrea, I love that blouse you're wearing! Where did you get it?

Lauer: You always know just where to shop, Andrea! Stay tuned, after a station break they'll be a special appearance from stylish Geena Davis, who will give us advice on keeping fit when you reach 50 and why Republicans ought to be institutionalized!"