[Almondjoy]

Agreed and also more importantly we do not know how NK is going to react down the road. It's all speculation but maybe the sunshine policy is actually working. Pakistan is apparently the country that has put NK over the top in their weapons program(so I read today in the news). The situation is this. Is NK afraid that we are going to bring the dogs of war onto them like Iraq? Hardly. Going into Iraq will cost us some lives and Iraq some lives but the collateral damage outside of that(to our best guesses) will be minimal. NK if threatened could flaten Seoul and well would truely ruin Asia econcomically for centruries(granted they have one or two nukes to lob into Japan to sweeten the pot). Regardless you can't aruge that the "sunshine policy" is any worse or better then the containment policy usually demonstrated by Republican administrations. Who knows.. maybe NK is really just trying to come out of their shell. The fact of the matter is that NK was well on their way with a Nuke program under Republican adminstrations. The 1994 agreement may have helped them along but the choice was there anyways.. war.. or give them the benefit of the doubt. In 1994 NOBODY in this country would of chosen war. So what do you do?

[pgyanke]

Actually, in 1994, Clinton was rattling his saber like the republican administrations before his. The difference is that no one took Clinton seriously. Far from a former policy of "allowing" NK to proceed, we use to take a very hard stance with them and have even threaten to bomb suspected nuclear sites.

Clinton's actions (aided by the Nobel Peace Joke winner) changed that dynamic immeasurably.