Kim Jong Il pardons U.S. journalists Ling and Lee during Bill Clinton visit

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 02:20 PM

By Richard Sisk
Daily News Washington Bureau
Updated Tuesday, August 4th 2009, 4:07 PM
WASHINGTON -- North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Il has pardoned two American journalists and ordered their release during the visit of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, say North Korean media.
The release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee was a sign of North Korea's "humanitarian and peaceloving policy," the Korean Central News Agency reported according to the Associated Press.

The White House said Clinton's mission was strictly limited to gaining the release of two U.S. women journalists jailed by the regime as spies, but North Korea played up the visit as a full-blown summit on a range of issues.
"Bill Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama to Kim Jong-Il," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

"Kim Jong-Il expressed thanks for this. He welcomed Clinton's visit to the DPRK (North Korea) and had an exhaustive conversation with him," the official agency said.

"There was a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern."
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs quickly shot that down.
"That's not true," he said.

Gibbs said there was no message from Obama and Clinton's only role was to win freedom for Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, both reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV cable channel.

Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, is a former co-host of ABC's "The View."
"While this solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans is on the ground, we will have no comment," Gibbs said in a statment.
"We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission."

ABC News reported Clinton met with the two women today -- an encounter described by a government source as highly emotional -- and hoped to leave Pyongyang with them on his chartered plane.
Secretary of State Clinton was on her way to Kenya at the start of a 10-day Africa swing, and the aides with her fended off queries on what she knew about her husband's mission.

Back at the State Department, a stone-faced spokesman Robert Wood had no comment. When asked "did the Secretary know that her husband was traveling," Wood responded "As I said, no comment on this issue."
On his suprise visit to Pyongyang, Clinton was accompanied by his former chief of staff at the White House, John Podesta, and an aide from his Clinton Foundation humanitarian group, Doug Band.

While the White House claimed that Clinton was on a short leash, Republicans were happy to speculate on what might be an expanded agenda involving breaking the stalemate on six-party talks aimed at North Korean nuclear disarmament.

"Maybe we can build on this to do something better with nuclear weapons," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on NBC's "Today" show.
Graham said he assumed Clinton had President Obama's authority to act on matters beyond the release of the two women. "I do not believe in cowboy diplomacy," Graham said, but "maybe this is a breakthrough, I would hope."

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 02:25 PM

It seems Bill Clinton still carries a whole bunch of weight.

**Prince** · 08-04-2009, 02:32 PM

Nice, Bill is the man!

**I.C.P.** · 08-04-2009, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

Nice, Bill is the man!

Yep.This makes Obama look bad.At least in my eyes

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

Yep.This makes Obama look bad.At least in my eyes

Why? It was with Obama's approval that Mrs. Clinton sent Mr.

**Prince** · 08-04-2009, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

Yep.This makes Obama look bad.At least in my eyes

I don't think so, Obama is the one that appointed Mrs. Clinton, that was a pretty smart move IMO.

**I.C.P.** · 08-04-2009, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by IronAddict

Why? It was with Obama's approval that Mrs. Clinton sent Mr.

I look at it this way,If Obama had to get a past president to do his job then that answers it.

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

I look at it this way,If Obama had to get a past president to do his job then that answers it.

Well, that would be one take!

A typical response from the other side would be that this is a proper delegation of authority.

**Prince** · 08-04-2009, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

I look at it this way,If Obama had to get a past president to do his job then that answers it.

I call that good delegation.

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

I look at it this way,If Obama had to get a past president to do his job then that answers it.

Kim Jong has a history with Clinton, also I don't think they cared for a woman to deal with them...

I don't think the end result would have been the same if Bush went instead.

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

I call that good delegation.

Prince, you and I must be very close in age, cause we're both very pragmatic.

**I.C.P.** · 08-04-2009, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

I don't think so, Obama is the one that appointed Mrs. Clinton, that was a pretty smart move IMO.

Oh,i agree,it was a smart move since Obama couldn't handle it himself.To me it just seems odd.And of course it's just my opinion.

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Kim Jong has a history with Clinton, also I don't think they cared for a woman to deal with them...

I don't think the end result would have been the same if Bush went instead.

Oh my gosh, we could have 3 wars going on at once!

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by I.C.P.

Oh,i agree,it was a smart move since Obama couldn't handle it himself.To me it just seems odd.And of course it's just my opinion.

What matters really is the end result, 2 innocent people have been freed and everyone is happy.

Although Obama tends to stick his nose into everything he does have other people in his Cabinet to handle situations like this.

**bio-chem** · 08-04-2009, 03:22 PM

it seems like S.O.P. type politics. Obama can't go because North Korea wants face to face unilateral talks with the US. The US will only talk with Korea as part of the 6 party talks. So we send a past president, who is able to make both sides happy. Something tells me this was an outcome that had already been worked out. North Korea wanted face to face relations and was willing to give these two ladies in exchange.

I don't give credit to or discredit to obama.

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I don't give credit to or discredit to obama.

Do you credit Clinton?

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 03:31 PM

"Boy, you are good. You are really good."

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

"Boy, you are good. You are really good."

Haha..., balls on chin.

**bio-chem** · 08-04-2009, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Do you credit Clinton?

I give credit to the guys behind the scene that did the real work of negotiating. Bill Clinton doesn't travel to North Korea without advance notice. The heavy lifting was done previously. this is just my opinion and is not based on anything other than my limited understanding of world politics

**Jarhed** · 08-04-2009, 04:08 PM

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 04:08 PM

I give him credit for having the balls to go there.
I don't know if they were to send anyone else would they have succeeded, so that in itself I would give him the credit.

**bio-chem** · 08-04-2009, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

I give him credit for having the balls to go there.
I don't know if they were to send anyone else would they have succeeded, so that in itself I would give him the credit.

I really don't think it took balls for Clinton to get on a plane to north korea. worst case scenario he comes home empty handed and korea looks even worse on the national stage. I think thats part of why korea said yes to this. i think they wanted a boost to the image as well about how accommodating they can be. Colin Powell recently said that the North Koreans are the hardest negotiators he has ever had to deal with. North Korea got something out of this that they wanted. I have no doubt.

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 04:19 PM

There's always a deal going on.

I still think he did a good job regardless of his party or his cigar usage.

**IronAddict** · 08-04-2009, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I really don't think it took balls for Clinton to get on a plane to north korea. worst case scenario he comes home empty handed and korea looks even worse on the national stage. I think thats part of why korea said yes to this. i think they wanted a boost to the image as well about how accommodating they can be. Colin Powell recently said that the North Koreans are the hardest negotiators he has ever had to deal with. North Korea got something out of this that they wanted. I have no doubt.

Dude, phuq Colin Powell! I say this because he lied and helped sell this war in Iraq. No delusion, he played a big part in the first gulf war, but he didn't even break a damn sweat.

Let me say, as a person who broke a sweat in that so called war, fuck him!

**Prince** · 08-04-2009, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I don't give credit to or discredit to obama.

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I don't give credit to or discredit to obama.

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I give credit to the guys behind the scene that did the real work of negotiating. Bill Clinton doesn't travel to North Korea without advance notice. The heavy lifting was done previously. this is just my opinion and is not based on anything other than my limited understanding of world politics

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 04:40 PM

Fox.news

So ... why Bill?
International affairs analysts say the former president offers something the North Koreans crave -- status and bragging rights. His visit could be considered ransom by itself. Plus Hillary Clinton and Pyongyang aren't exactly simpatico these days, after she and the North Koreans got in a lowbrow war of words during her trip to Asia last month.
"Let's face it. He is a rock star of sorts. And they probably get the most sort of payback, or payoff if you will, from having a visit from him as opposed to the other candidates," said Jim Walsh, a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies international security.
The former president, who met with leader Kim Jong Il and the two journalists before apparently winning their release, appears to have been the first choice for the job over several other potential one-shot envoys.
Aside from the secretary of state, other logical choices included former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson, who has traveled to the country on similar missions previously; former President Jimmy Carter, who made a tension-defusing visit in 1994; and former Vice President Al Gore, who co-founded the Current TV channel the jailed journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, worked for.

**Prince** · 08-04-2009, 04:46 PM

I will be curious to see what GWB gets used for in regards to future foreign affairs.

**bio-chem** · 08-04-2009, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

you think obama did the behind the scenes negotiating?

**min0 lee** · 08-04-2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

I will be curious to see what GWB gets used for in regards to future foreign affairs.

We can use him as an excuse to start wars? This of course with Cheney's permission and if there was something in it for them.

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