Today's New York Times editorial on the North Korea deal pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.First, I completely agree that it is "welcome news that North Korea has agreed to move toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel oil and international acceptance - including the hope of eventual recognition by the United States." That's been the basis of a deal with North Korea for a long time now, we just haven't gotten it done.
Second, I have the same questions that the New York Times poses:
What took so long? And even more important: Will President Bush learn from this belated success? Will he finally allow his diplomats to try negotiation and even compromise with other bad and undeniably dangerous governments?
In other words, now that we've got a compromise deal with North Korea, will the unilateral, absolutist, force-first-ask-questions-later, never-negotiate-with-"evil" Bush foreign policy change towards Iran, let's say? Is the North Korea deal sui generis, or does it indicate a broader move by the Bush Administration towards engaging in multilateral negotiations - on global warming, for instance - that it has shunned and belittled for 6 years now?
Finally, what took the Bush Administration so long vis-a-vis North Korea? As the New York Times writes, "Mr. Bush could probably have gotten this deal years ago, except that he decided he didn't have to talk to anyone he didn't like." In the meantime, while Bush was engaging in his infantile hissy fit, North Korea was busy pumping out plutonium and building nuclear weapons. For a full timeline of this fiasco, see here. As far as I can tell, this all could have been avoided.
Look, I don't like North Korea or some other countries either, but that's not the point. In foreign relations, you negotiate with everyone, even with actors that you "loathe" (as Bush famously said of Kim Jong-il). Now, with this North Korea deal tentatively in place, the main question becomes: will the Bush Administration learn the lesson - and alter its fundamentally flawed foreign policy apporach - or not?
Luke for President!
As the Bush administration has been so devious in the past, I find it difficult to trust them now, especially with this delicate matter, and I can't help but wonder what's really going on behind the curtain. Our willingness to deal with North Korea so suddenly has me wondering if we're looking at a Bush legacy attempt or worse, a distraction from what might be ready to happen in Iran. I have lost much faith this administration will be straight with American people on any issue.