North Korea "Regrets" Nuke Test; Will Return To Negotiations

Ahem. It appears that pressure from the Chinese did the trick.

As was Bush's intent.

This doesn't resolve the crisis. But North Korea has been backed down by a country it actually fears -- China.

Again, in case the liberals don't understand:

The US can offer nothing but carrots to North Korea.

North Korea has taken carrots from the US before -- from the Clinton Administration -- and conducted nuclear research anyway.

What is needed now is sticks.

China can wield sticks against North Korea.

Like threatening to cut off oil and grain deliveries upon which North Korea depends for its very existence, for instance.

Ergo, only a negotiation in which China is participant is likely to change North Korea's behavior.

Ergo, John Kerry and the rest of the kneejerk Bush-anklebiters who urged bilateral talks -- which would offer no sticks -- were, despite their towering genius, wrong.

It's not as if the US can threaten to cut off North Korea's lifeline of grain and oil, now is it?

There was a time, a mere six or eight years ago, when the Democrats were capable of actually supporting a President, even one of a different party, when it came to fairly commonsense foreign policy choices.

Now they cannot rise themselves from wallowing in the piggish partisanship of kneejerk sniping and gainsaying. Whatever Bush says is wrong. Whatever Bush is for they're against.

It's not that the six-party talks will work, so much as it's only such talks can work. We've already gone the bilateral way, and that's already failed.

But the Democrats can't admit that, of course.

posted by Ace at 12:01 AM

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