It should be noted that last week’s secret US- North Korea discussions didn’t come entirely out of nowhere. In fact, North Korea has recently been suggesting such talks. While Pyongyang obviously backed away from its demands that SecState Rice apologize to them for her “tyranny” remarks, the secret talks also seem to have been North …
North Korea and the "New York Channel"
by | 2005-05-19 | 1 Comment
Joseph DeTrani (third from right) participates in a seminar organized by the Chosun Ilbo and CSIS. Spokespersons at the White House and US Embassy, Tokyo confirm “working-level contacts” between US officials and the DPRK mission at the United Nations. Asahi Shimbun appears to have broken the story, but the Boston Globe has the best coverage: …
More on the Bolton/Iraq Intel Debate
by | 2005-05-18 | 2 Comments
I’ll get my .02 in. The point of the discussion RE: the Niger fiasco is that Bolton was cherry-picking intelligence. He ignored INR’s conclusions on this matter because he wanted to believe something different. The circus tent known as NRO dutifully defends this practice: Bolton in many ways was a model consumer of intelligence as …
Gordon Mitchell on Bolton's Warped Intelligence
by | 2005-05-18 | 7 Comments
Gordon Mitchell argues that John Bolton’s handling of intelligence in the Niger Uranium intelligence should preclude his confirmation as Ambassador to the United Nations: Impeccably accurate IC reporting won’t matter a whit if political operatives ignore official intelligence reports and use Bolton-style B-teaming to back favored policies. Bolton’s confirmation would give political operatives throughout the …
