The standard meme about the Bush administration from its critics has been consistent ever since 2001 — the administration is charged with arrogance implemented through a swaggering unilateralism.  Critics highlight the withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile and Kyoto treaties as key exhibits to support their indictment.  The Iraq war was criticized on many different fronts, but none more strongly than the claim of unilateralism.  More recently, critics — particularly those among the more virulently paranoid wings of the blogosphere –  have fixated on Iran as the next looming disaster in Bush administration foreign policy.  The specific scenarios have varied, but the common theme is that the Bush administration will supposedly seek some pretext to attack Iran before it leaves office.

Such criticisms are somewhat understandable, particularly in light of  the early tendency of the administration to swagger and the continuing assertions by so-called “neocons” like William Kristol, John Bolton, and Norman Podhoretz openly advocating an assault against Iran’s growing nuclear infrastructure. Images of President Bush in a flight suit backed up by a “Mission Accomplished” banner built a powerful narrative that is tough to shake with more mundane and often behind-the-scenes realities.  The criticisms nonetheless completely miss a key fact — that the Bush administration has begun building a clear record of multilateralism.  Exhibit A for the defense is North Korea. (more…)

The Sunday Times reports that ‘North Korean military engineers are completing an underground runway beneath a mountain that can protect fighter aircraft from attack until they take off at high speed through the mouth of a tunnel.’ The news of the secret underground runway comes shortly after news broke that North Korea had assisted Syria with its nuclear project. (more…)

Stories about North Korea usually focus on its nuclear program.  But Perhaps they should start focusing more on what we will do when the place falls apart. (more…)

Once again North Korea has shown the world that one can make as many agreements as one wants with North Korea but that agreements mean nothing to Kim Jung-Il and his clique.

The deadline for
North Korea to shut down it main nuclear reactor passed Saturday with no action taken by the communist country, leaving the top U.S. nuclear negotiator to surmise that the momentum had escaped disarmament talks.

No word yet about what action to take now.

Great. The Washington Post reports that “the six-nation talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program broke down in Beijing on Thursday as top envoys from Russia and North Korea flew home and the Chinese hosts called a recess.”

North Korea’s delegates decided to leave because of $25 million in North Korean funds that has been frozen by the U.S.

“The breakdown raises the question as to whether the North is really serious about denuclearization,” said Peter M. Beck, a Seoul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group. “It’s clearly not a question of if they’re getting their money back or how much of it.”
[…]
“It is embarrassing,” said David Asher, who headed a task force examining North Korean criminal activities during President Bush’s first term. He likened the U.S. move to giving money back to a thief and said it would simply encourage North Korea to test the limits. “We are trying to pay them to act good,” he said. “But they think they are getting paid because they acted bad.”

Michael J. Green, formerly the top Asia specialist at the White House, approves of the nuclear agreement reached in February but warned, “We have to be careful not to expend all of our chits at this stage and not let North Korea regain the initiative.”

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei remained… determined:

“No one can get off the boat. We have to work together to make progress.”

The problem is, of course, that North Korea doesn’t seem very willing to “work together”.

The U.S. should be incredibly constistent in these talks. Work towards a clear goal, reward good behavior, but don’t give in to North Korea’s idiotic behavior / demands. The Asian country’s leaders are sometimes truly behaving like 5 year olds.

Perhaps they should be treated as such.