Scott Stossel in The Atlantic Monthly quotes Bob Gallucci on people who oppose negotiations with North Korea:
Gallucci, for his part, said he was “surprised at how surprised [Ken] Adelman was that we—those of us who favor negotiation—could end up in a position where we would favor the use of military force.” Gallucci was emphatic that we urgently have to try to negotiate, as a prelude to possible military action, and was frustrated that the Bush administration and some of the war-game principals were unwilling to recognize that. To put his frustration in context, he told me a story.
“When I came back with the Agreed Framework deal and tried to sell it,” he said, “I ran into the same people sitting around that table—the general to my right, Ken across from me. They hated the idea of trying to solve this problem with a negotiation.
And I said, ‘What’s your—pardon me—your fucking plan, then, if you don’t like this?’
‘We don’t like—’
I said, ‘Don’t tell me what you don’t like! Tell me how you’re going to stop the North Korean nuclear program.’
‘But we wouldn’t do it this way—’
‘Stop! What are you going to do?’
“I could never get a goddamn answer. What I got was ‘We wouldn’t negotiate.’ ”
The Atlantic Monthly is subscription only.
Full Disclosure: I used to work for Bob at APSIA.
In other words, the Bush administration has no plan, unless it’s to let China handle it.
Jeff-
Since Iran and Norkor seem joined at the hip/launchpad/reactor, do you forsee any negative implications from the Iranian solid fuel announcement this week? I have seen very little reaction to this news, and wonder if it is already factored into all of the black books&hearts.
Seems that cash + fuel technology + guidance + cash could equal enough plutonium to make the persian bomb a reality. Plus, what could the west do after the fact if it happened?
One last niggling thought….did you hear the rumor, a couple of years back, that the Saudi’s may have purchased a weapon from Pakistan? It was said to be a trade for a bankroll of development. Crazy stuff, you can hear almost anything out there.
Earl
The full Atlantic Monthly article can be found at the following link:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200507/stossel
[When I click it, I just get the first two paragraphs — ACW]
Just read the article. The weird thing is, nobody seems to have asked “What does Kim want?” they treat North Korean bad behaviour as a given, like the physics of an avalanche. They keep stressing over NK selling a nuke to terroroists, but never ask why they’d do so. if the obvious answer is right—“money”—then …duhh… don’t we have money too? Nobody wants to “prop up” NK, but if the alternative is Korean War II, would it be that bad?