Analysis: Clinton to North Korea -- a matter of respect (Kerry coordinated deal)

[ProSense]

Analysis: Clinton to North Korea -- a matter of respect

By Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea was the culmination of weeks of quiet diplomacy with Pyongyang and subtle public statements aimed at freeing American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.

Having secured the journalists' release, will the trip eventually coax North Korea back to the negotiating table?

There was no shortage of envoys ready to travel to North Korea and negotiate the women's release.

Some heavyweights were turned down by the North Koreans: former Vice President Al Gore, a co-founder of the media outfit the women were working for when they were arrested, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations whose previous missions to North Korea included negotiating the release of a detained American.

Lower-level envoys like former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and current Korea Society Chairman Donald Gregg, Sig Harrison, an expert on North Korean nukes who has traveled there several times, and Han Park, a scholar at the University of Georgia, all offered their services.

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was also closely involved in coordinating efforts with the White House and State Department to free the women. According to sources intimately involved with the efforts, Kerry received an official invitation to visit Pyongyang to facilitate their release and open a larger dialogue on the nuclear issue after several weeks of quiet direct diplomacy between Kerry and his aides and North Korea.

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[stray cat]

1. Well done by all those who participated!

[Mass]

2. It was a team effort and congratulations should be given to Obama to have made this possible.

No way a McCain White House or a Bush White House would have done that. All you need is to see Bolton groan.

[karynnj]

3. Everyone involved deserves credit for the successful release of these women

It does show their thirst for recognition that they insisted on the personal presence of someone as important as either President Clinton or Senator Kerry. In Kerry's case, his inclusion in the invitation likely reflects the success of his quiet direct diplomacy.

[Uzybone]

6. well said, we have a group of guys who are not clamoring for attention

like idiot Bush did when he posed on the aircraft carrier.

We already know Obama, Kerry and Gore are dedicated men who work hard behind the scenes. (Kerry for one never gets any props)I am also very glad that the Big Dawg did his part as well.

[karynnj]

9. I'm actually surprised that CNN has spoken of Kerry's role here

He really tends to be the unsung hero on many things. But, it likely has to feel good to really be able to make diplomatic gains. Though getting the release of these women is wonderful and will be a feel good moment for the country, the bigger piece of information here is on other issues.

Asking for Bill Clinton is a reflection of the fact that other than Obama, there is no bigger name they can ask for. That they said that Kerry was acceptable, likely means that he was able to establish some connection to them - it wouldn't be that he was the candidate in 2004 or Chair of SFRC. That actually is important as we will need every strength we have to work on the real problems with NK. (I wonder if Kerry 1971 helped)

Kerry actually helped diplomatically on two potentially bigger foreign policy. It was Kerry's quiet diplomacy that was credited with breaking the logjam to opening relations with Syria - which could be important in the middle east and , in Sudan, he won agreement that the rebels and the government will have tripartite talks and they would bring aid up to previous level in Darfur. Pretty good diplomatic track record given he is a member of the Senate.

If he did play as big a role as it sounds here, I hope Obama and the Clintons will have the grace to mention it when they all celebrate the release.

[ProSense]

13. These negotiations may have been ongoing for several weeks

Kerry made this statement at a June 11 SFRC hearing on North Korea

Finally, I know I speak for every member of this Committee when I say that we are also deeply concerned for the fate of two American journalists – Laura Ling and Euna Lee – who are under detention in North Korea. We urge North Korea to do what is right, and promptly and unconditionally release them from custody.

[karynnj]

18. Thanks, it is amazing how often Kerry has very successfully acted as a diplomat

this year. Kerry has greatly helped in the middle east and in Sudan. It sounds like he has also been very good working with the Chinese on the issue of dealing with Climate Change.

All the while doing an excellent job as Chair of SFRC. He has managed to stop every non-productive Republican amendment that would have tied Obama's hands on any foreign policy issue by stating why they are bad ideas in clear, sharp short Senate speeches. He is also working with Lugar, Menendez and Corker on legislation that will restructure how US AID helps countries - Lugar and Kerry both spoke at a recent hearing about how for the last couple of decades this organisation has not been as well run as it should be. http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090722p.html

This will be major legislation that should improve how the US is viewed in the world.

[Cha]

22. We always said..we need Kerry

in the Senate! Good people have to be spread out in all the branches of the Gov.

[Cha]

21. Yes, indeed!

I'm so happy they're coming home~!

[blm]

25. Kerry takes diplomatic issues seriously, and has NEVER been involved for personal gains

and glory. That's why so many stories have been planted against him over the many years calling him vain and and showhorse - the establishment powers needed his hard work undermined and marginalized and buried before it exposed their deceptions more fully.

[politicasista]

4. Kick

Great job by everyone involved. :kick: :patriot:

[BlooInBloo]

5. Excellent work for weeks, culminating in Clinton going over to get them...

Just great work all around.

[YvonneCa]

7. All my favorite Dems on deck for...

...this. :patriot: I like what Donna Brazille said...she said it was a 'symphony'. Perfect.

Thank you to Senator Kerry, President Obama, Former President Clinton, Former Vice-President Al Gore and Secretary of State (and former First Lady) Hillary Clinton.

Amazing what can be accomplished when we work together! Good work, guys... :patriot:

[Bleacher Creature]

8. So while a number of high-profile Dems were working to free these women . . .

Republicans, led by John Bolton, wanted to do nothing and either hope that they were freed, or simply take the chance that they would never be released. (And this is being charitable since their release undercuts tensions between the two sides and lessens any chance of actual conflict).

[Kdillard]

10. That about sums it up. Republicans doing their best to make

a bad situation worse always.

[ProSense]

14. Bolton can't get over

the fact that Kerry smacked him down for his dropping the ball and erasing the gains by the Clinton administration.

[BlooInBloo]

15. I like Atrios' explanation best....

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2009/08/not-point.html

"When John Bolton saw Bill Clinton go to North Korea, his penis got a little bit smaller. And that's really what it's about."

[ProSense]

16. What

penis?

:rofl:

[PopSixSquish]

11. Aw Dammit, I Have Something in My Eye

Screw the Republicans and and screw the news media.

My Presidents, My Should Have Been Presidents, My Diplomatic Corps and My Secretary of State ROCK THE HOUSE!!!!!

Once again, I am proud of my country...

[Jennicut]

23. You said it perfectly...

Clinton, Kerry and Gore, Hillary, Bill Richardson and all the rest. We have the best people on the Dem side, always have.

[Phx_Dem]

12. Amazing how it takes a Democratic President to get anything done, and

a Republican President to destroy everything.

I'm really glad the story is coming out because Kerry deserves a big kudos for his "quiet" involvement.

[ProSense]

17. It's easy to destroy stuff.

That's why most Repubs haven't made a single contribution to improving people's lives. Not even a vote for a bill someone else sponsored. They simply obstruct and destroy things. Imagine being known for the bill that destroyed the quality of life for a lot of people. They sponsor bills that take away people's rights, create loopholes to screw consumers, devastate the economy, squander surpluses and run up deficits. They suck.

[beachmom]

19. I'm proud of every Democrat involved in this effort!

Kudos is in order for all.

[YvonneCa]

24. You betcha, beachmom...

...:7 See, isn't this fun? :7

[Cha]

20. Interesting.. What a relief!

Thank you, Pro Sense~

<snip from your article>>

"The former is far more important to North Korea than the latter. In 1994, former President Jimmy Carter traveled to North Korea, during Bill Clinton's own administration, to negotiate an end to the first North Korean nuclear crisis. Before he left, he asked his State Department briefers, "what does Kim Il Sung want?"

According to a participant in the room, Carter answered his own question. "What he wants is my respect," Carter told them. "And I am going to give it to him."

That's what Bill Clinton's visit gave North Korea: a level of respect the North Korean state so desperately craves but rarely gets."

[Nyquil Man]

26. Lesson: Diplomacy is not just something to do while waiting for the bombs to drop.

This is a small scale example, but dealing with enemies can be constructive and can ease tensions.

It doesn't always work, but when it does it's a thing of beauty.