It Depends What “Sincere” Is
Credit where credit is due. Bill Clinton is probably the perfect guy to send to negotiate with Kim Jong Il. Here’s how the Central Korean News Agency reported the proceedings, via CNN:
“Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it,” the news agency reported. “Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.
The Norks don’t know Bill very well if they think he’s in the sincere apology business. And there is always the possibility Bill said no such thing. Then again, it’s probably a little like the Bill-Hill relationship. He pretends to be sorry for hostile acts and says it’ll never happen again. And for public consumption, the K’s pretend to believe him. Then, once safely back in the free world, Bill parses the thing, explains he never expressed words of sincere apology for the hostile acts at all. But back to the earlier question about whether there was a quid pro quo.
“The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them.”
The report said Clinton then conveyed a message from President Obama “expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries.”
But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters in Washington before the announced agreement that Clinton was not carrying any message — written or oral — from Obama.
Well, yes and no. As far as Kim is concerned, when you show up, bow and scrape, and are shown magnanimity, that signals a lot of grain and fuel oil better be following. Anyway, it depends what “conveys” is. Lip bite followed by wink and a nod?
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:58 pm on Tuesday, August 4, 2009
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