Posted on 04/21/2003 4:57:50 PM PDT by MadIvan
A secret Donald Rumsfeld memorandum calling for regime change in North Korea was leaked yesterday, opening a fresh foreign policy split in the Bush administration.
The classified discussion paper, circulated by the defence secretary, appears to cut directly across State Department plans to disarm Kim Jong-il, the North's dictator, through threats leavened by promises that his regime is not a target for overthrow.
The paper does not call for military action against North Korea, but wants the United States to team up with China in pushing for the collapse of Kim Jong-il's bankrupt but belligerent regime, the New York Times reported.
In a sign that Washington is girding itself for a repetition of the bitter rows that preceded the Iraq conflict, the memorandum was leaked on the same day that a senior State Department negotiator flew to Beijing for three-way talks with China and North Korea.
Officials working for Mr Rumsfeld are implacably opposed to the talks, pointing to North Korea's long history of extorting aid and concessions in return for promises - never kept - to behave in a more reasonable way.
Instead, they seek to use the salutary effect of the rapid victory in Iraq to push North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons programme immediately.
They also want to demand weapons inspections across the country. That would be an unthinkable concession for a Stalinist police state that bars even aid agencies from a third of its territory.
This raises the prospect that Washington would be urging inspections for form's sake and with little hope of success, much as happened in Iraq.
Even before the American envoy, James Kelly, arrived in Beijing for the talks, there were signs of new North Korean brinksmanship.
Pyongyang released conflicting statements last Friday, saying in an English language text that it had started reprocessing spent fuel rods into plutonium, a dramatic step that would place it only months from producing several nuclear warheads. However, a Korean version of the statement said that Pyongyang was merely poised to begin reprocessing.
Supporters of the diplomatic approach attacked the Pentagon proposal as ludicrous. They said that Beijing, while appalled by North Korea's recent behaviour, would never join an American-led campaign to topple its communist neighbour.
An unnamed senior administration official told the New York Times: "The last thing the Chinese want is a collapse of North Korea that will create a flood of refugees into China and put Western allies on the Chinese border."
The White House says that regime change in North Korea is not official policy, despite the country's inclusion with Iraq and Iran in President George W Bush's "axis of evil".
Mr Bush has said that he "loathes" Kim Jong-il, who is believed to have killed a tenth of his population through starvation and imprisonment in vast labour camps.
Colin Powell, the secretary of state, is said to have secured the president's approval for a carrot and stick approach in a meeting last week. Mr Powell called for threats to withhold aid and investment from North Korea, while assuring the regime that it faces no threat from the United States.
Mr Rumsfeld, who was "distracted" by the war against Saddam Hussein, did not attend the meeting and may now be trying to regain some traction in the Korea debate, officials speculated.
Mr Bush, who appears willing to let his senior aides scrap over policy before taking a final decision, endorsed Mr Kelly's diplomatic mission at the weekend and thanked Beijing for hosting the talks.
He said that China's involvement meant there was "a good chance of convincing North Korea to abandon her ambitions to develop nuclear arsenals".
The Clinton administration drew up plans to bomb the main North Korean nuclear site at Yongbyon. But the generally far more hawkish Bush government has long contended that talk of military action against North Korea is unrealistic, given the country's huge conventional arsenals aimed at South Korea.
Instead, conservatives have advocated letting North Korea "stew in its own juice", cutting off the overseas aid which sustains the crumbling regime until it collapses under its own weight.
In the end, though, it will probably prove as necessary as war with Saddam was.
Second of all, I just had to say that while I am not the biggest GW Bush fan (I most likely won't vote for him again), I have to admire the way he does business.
Yesterday the Treasury Secretary said that the Bush administration was willing to compromise on tax cuts. Today a spokesman for the Secretary said that the administration is committed to a jobs and growth package of at least $550 billion in tax relief that includes all of the elements the president has proposed....
I think the State/Defense stuff is just another example of the way this President keeps his enemies (and his friends) off guard.
I LOVE IT, and I have to admire the man for it.
Issue a new card deck...with Kim the Joker, of course. Agonize over the burning question, "After North Korea, will we do Libya or Yemen next?"
Indignantly denounce, but in reality dupe Hollywood leftists into cruising Pyongyang hoods, ostensibly comforting, but more likely confusing hapless Kim-Joker. Drop tons of public service leaflets and food rations on the populace. Drop thousands of cans of orange paint and body bags on top of troop bunkers. Complain noisily that Kim-il's digs are puny and cheap compared to Sadam's, and hardly worthy of the waste of our powerful, sophisticated munitions.
Speculate that the NK Street is not nearly so crafty, clever, urbane & street-smart as the Arab Street. Bait & panic Kim-Joker into thinking about doing something really stupid, but with ears on the ground and Predators, Hawks, SF, Carriers, Boomers, Bombers, Fighters, Tomahawks, Screaming Eagles & Airborne, and 15 Marines at the ready. Prep South Korea military to breach the DMZ, make pre-emptive shock & awe strike before K-J has time to decide what stupid thing he is actually thinking about doing.
In other words, cut to the chase. The New York Times will hardly know what hit them.
Oh, for heaven's sake look on the bright side...wait a minute...that is the bright side...never mind...
Jong is not long for this world.
Oh oh Kim. I think we all know what that means
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