“Why should I care about North Korea?”
In State of Denial, Bob Woodward recounts a conversation between then-Gov. George W. Bush and then-Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar, in which Bush wonders why he should care about North Korea. “I get these briefings on all parts of the world,” Bush said, “and everybody is talking to me about North Korea.”
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The ninth member of the Nuclear Club?
North Korea ’s claim of a successful nuclear weapon test, if true, formally makes it the ninth nation known or generally thought to possess such arms.
A glance at the world’s nuclear weapons states and their stockpiles, based on estimates compiled from different sources:
North Korea: Believed to have enough fissile material for about a half-dozen weapons, but estimates vary widely and are unverifiable. Claimed first successful nuclear test explosion today.
United States: More than 5,000 strategic warheads, more than 1,000 operational tactical weapons - meant for the battlefield and less powerful than the strategic arms - and approximately 3,000 reserve strategic and tactical warheads. Became the first country to carry out a nuclear test explosion on July 16, 1945.
Russia: Nearly 5,000 strategic warheads, and approximately 3,500 operational tactical warheads. In addition, it has more than 11,000 strategic and tactical warheads in storage. Exploded its first bomb in 1949.
France: Approximately 350 strategic warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1960.
China: As many as 250 strategic warheads and 150 tactical warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1964.
Britain: About 200 strategic warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1952.
India: Between 45 and 95 nuclear warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1974.
Pakistan: Between 30 and 50 nuclear warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1998.
Israel: Refuses to confirm it is a nuclear weapons state but is generally assumed to have up to 200 nuclear warheads. Unknown when Israel might have carried out a test explosion.
October 9th, 2006 at 11:44 amD’OH!!!
October 9th, 2006 at 11:46 am“No oil? Then why should I care? Hmmmph.” - W.
October 9th, 2006 at 11:48 amOh well If America starts a war with Korea now then its goodbye to 50 thousand US troops - A bloody good deterant well done NK
October 9th, 2006 at 11:50 amTime for the trolls to quit sniffing glue and wake up to the fact that their guy Bush is an imbecile.
October 9th, 2006 at 11:51 amWhy should I care about Osama?
Why should I care about North Korea?
Why should I care about NOLA?
Why should I care about body bags?
Why should I care about PDB’s?
Why should I care about a gottdamn piece of paper?
Why should I care………………
Anyone else seeing a pattern here by or socipathic administration?
October 9th, 2006 at 11:52 amThis is unfair. I’m no fan of Bush, but I like to think we’re better than the right. This is taken out of context. He was asking a LOT of foreign policy questions at the time, going around country by country. Kind of encouraging that he cared to ask actually. Anyway there are a million things to beat up on hiom for, including his policy toward North Korea, buit this isn’t one. Come on TP, thought you guys were better than this.
October 9th, 2006 at 11:55 amIsrael can probably get away with refusal to acknowledge itself as a nuclear weapons state due to the fact that it doesn’t have to conduct the testing; the U.S. does it for them.
October 9th, 2006 at 11:56 amYeah, what should King George care about some country he can’t even find on the map?
I still can’t believe this country had enough idiots to re-elect this moron. Did someone spike this country’s water supply with stupid pills????
October 9th, 2006 at 12:01 pmNotice how important North Korea was to Bush just as Hastert knew about XF aka fingers Foley and could care less about the kids. In both cases these two problems have come to bit both asses in the ass.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:01 pmLike all of us knew, Prince Bandar (Bush) a councel for bull shit bush, chief pupett for cheney/rove/rummy/rice, adopted son of bush senior…Does he get paid for his councel and who writes the check’s. Follow the money, while we still can……Blessings
October 9th, 2006 at 12:01 pmGeorge W. pulled Bandar aside.
“Bandar, I guess you’re the best asshole who knows about the world. Explain to me one thing.”
“Governor, what is it?”
i have always wondered how this jerk gets away with showing such a blatant lack of respect for others, especially towards heads of state, even in public… (”Vlad”?!?)
it’s occurred to me that he is merely tolerated because of the “bush name” and family ties… i know, of course, but it’s even deeper… he grew up amongst these types… they have been grooming this idiot frat boy and putting up with this kind of crap - all to the ends we are witnessing and suffering through…
i don’t suppose it occurred to them to put that opportunity to better use, much less good use… just selfishness…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:05 pmknow what i mean?
GWB was channeling Scarlett O’Hara — and making Mizz Scarlett look good.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:06 pmDARVO alert.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:06 pmI think the mentioned prince is not in the state which would allow him to change the situation, even if he would care about north Korea.
Thank you for sharing this story with me !
October 9th, 2006 at 12:10 pmjMiles
NK was in the headlines long before Bush entered the Whitehouse, it has been an issue in America’s body politic since way back before Vietnam, and its nuclear test program was nothing new. For GW to not know why he should be worried about it, shows a worrying lack of interest. One would expect someone who wants to be president of America to at least know a bit about what is going on in the rest of the world.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:10 pmPreznikt NumbNuts strikes again!
Incompetent MisLeadership. It’s well beyond time to impeach these fools and perverts who are supposed to keep us safe from harm.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:10 pm“Who could have predicted that North Korea was serious when they said they were going nuclear.” Condalezza Rice in 3…..2……1
October 9th, 2006 at 12:10 pmIf the conflict in Iraq is just a “,” what is N. Korea? a “?”. I guess that makes Bush a “:”
October 9th, 2006 at 12:13 pmThis is unfair. I’m no fan of Bush, but I like to think we’re better than the right. This is taken out of context. He was asking a LOT of foreign policy questions at the time, going around country by country. Kind of encouraging that he cared to ask actually. Anyway there are a million things to beat up on hiom for, including his policy toward North Korea, buit this isn’t one. Come on TP, thought you guys were better than this.
Comment by jMiles — October 9, 2006 @ 11:55 am
I smell a troll.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:14 pmjMiles,
It’s just another trickle in the great stream of polluted water that is GWB’s presidency.
But hey, what the hell? TP is ignoring the death of habeas corpus, why not pile on Georgie?
October 9th, 2006 at 12:14 pmjMiles,
Bush didn’t travel anywhere while he was govervor, except to a Rangers game to pick his nose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1WozPN4Daw
Sorry, we aren’t sympathetic to your moron.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:14 pmhellinabucket,
Hillarious!
October 9th, 2006 at 12:15 pmHe was asking a LOT of foreign policy questions at the time, going around country by country. Kind of encouraging that he cared to ask actually.
And don’t forget that he is reading 50 books this year! Or is that 60? I can’t keep it straight.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:19 pmWasn’t the N.Korea explosion outcome explained to Emperor Bush in the book “My Pet Goat?”
October 9th, 2006 at 12:22 pmSo there goes the October surprise… Watch the media take the bait on the weak-ass nuclear test and The Foley Scandal fade away as the media devote’s the rest of the air waves to North Korea. From here on in it’s the Axis of Evil speeches all over again. Beating the citizens over the head with it again and again; and the media will pick up each bushco speech and play it every night… By election day they won’t remember who Mark Foley was…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:22 pmI can hear tony snow now,”We aren’t going to talk about the Foley scandal when there are more important things going on out there like North Korea having nukes now, we just aren’t going to do it….”
October 9th, 2006 at 12:23 pmHe’s also learning Eubonics so can get Condi hot & bothered.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:25 pm#28 - He’s also learning Eubonics so can get Condi hot & bothered.
I thought Condi was already all hot and bothered. Hasn’t she refered to the Emperor as her “husband” several times in public?
She must be crushed, eh? Emperor on Gannon… no Emperor on Condi… these are really sick and twisted pedophiles and perverts…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:28 pmHeh! What an absurd and easily refutable claim by Woodward and ThinkProgress….One of the main planks of then-Gov. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign platform was missile defense against rogue states such as North Korea. In fact, ThinkProgress just recently hosted a thread criticizing Dubya for focusing too much on missile defense in 2000 and early 2001. And NOW ThinkProgress does a 180 and is now trying to claim that President Bush did not focus enough on the nuclear threat posed by North Korea!
You folks can’t keep your stories straight, can you?
At the Republican National Convention in 2000 when speakers promised to build up U.S. military strength, the only weapons system advocated by name was national missile defense.
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: At the earliest possible date, my administration will deploy missile defenses to guard against attack and blackmail. Now is the time… Now is the time, not to defend outdated treaties, but to defend the American people.
The Republican / Bush platform of 2000 stated: Over two dozen countries have ballistic missiles today. A number of them, including North Korea, will be capable of striking the United States within a few years, and with little warning
So, nice try, TP…Unfortunately for you, the facts on the record indisputably prove you are wrong…again.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:33 pmRove and the Publican Machine know that for them the most important thing is to control the Media Cycle’s. For them it is a, day to day battle to control each news cycle. They lost the last couple week to Woodward and to the Foley “Scandal”. Now they will come out swinging with kaos speeches everynight to get ahold on the Media again, hopefully it doesn’t work… Hopefully…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:33 pmI don’t believe this to be the Oktober suprise unless the administration has been purposely holding intel. on this matter. Wouldn’t put it past them but this has been brewing for some time. N. Korea firmly believes the only chance they have to be at the bargaining table is if they have nukes. The only other major exports they have is narcotics and counterfit US bills so they believe the bomb will give them the bargainig chip they need.
This should not be dealt with lightly but I don’t see much any administration could do. We can talk tough but dropping any nukes in that part of the world will inflame China, Russia and the rest.
#23 been thinking about that this whole weekend.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:34 pmren
Except all this does is show that Bush and the Republicans are weak in yet another area. The Democrats need to cease on this issue before the Republicans do, and paint it as yet another failure.
For a October Surprise, this one is relatively weak and easily countered into the Democrats favour.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:34 pmWell it just points out again the idiocy that is the Bush Administration. And while this may push the Foley scandal out of the top spot for a couple of days the Foley scandal has more media legs.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:34 pm#7
Possibly true but it seems like NK dissapeared from the headlines after Bush took office.
While he was claiming that Iraq had WMDs, NK was apparently already making them!
As Dog #6 said, W ignored 911, New Orleans and now it appears NK has joined the club.
Boy I sure feel safer!!!
October 9th, 2006 at 12:36 pmNaw, they didn’t forget Clinton after all these years!! =)
October 9th, 2006 at 12:37 pmwell, now… i can see your point, jmiles…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:38 pmit’s all in the inflection, the tone of voice…
but it’s not difficult to imagine dubya saying “why should I care about NK?”…
but, see, a BETTER man would say “TELL me, please, why should i care about NK?”…
he wasn’t well raised, or groomed…
No OIL in the NK, so Bush does not care about the place! Only countries with OIL like Iraq and Iran mean anything to Bush ass!
October 9th, 2006 at 12:40 pmBy October surprise…I mean that, the Foley Scandal was our October Surprise by accident. Almost an accidental pre-emptive surprise on Rove’s October surprise.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:42 pmExley,
Do you seriously believe that missile defense has any connection to national security? This technology doesn’t actually exist, and the public record gives ample evidence that the missile defense program is fraudulent.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:42 pmcease should be seize.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:48 pmAnd how is that star wars boondoggle going for ya?
October 9th, 2006 at 12:49 pmjust listened to CAP’s dennis o’donnal (sp?) on franken…
sure wish the powers that be were also listening… yea, right…
we gotta persuade them to TALK, people… a special envoy…
TALK IT OUT…
kim has to feed his people… and his army…
October 9th, 2006 at 12:50 pmAt the Republican National Convention in 2000 when speakers promised to build up U.S. military strength, the only weapons system advocated by name was national missile defense.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:50 pmComment by Exley — October 9, 2006 @ 12:33 pm
Exactly, BushCo., has depleted our military to the point that the rest of the World knows that we cannot conduct a war on two fronts. All we can do are airstrikes. By “weapon system’s”, you don’t win Wars with weapon systems alone and Bush’s doctrine is Preemptive attack anyways, so why do we need a Missile Shield if we are planning on attacking everyone who has a nuclear program?
#30 Nice try, troll.
The “missile defense” program works about as well as shooting down a bullet with another bullet. The main purpose of SDI was to shovel obscene amounts of cash to defense contractors as thanks for contributions to Republican election campaigns.
The way to prevent rogue states from attacking the United States with nuclear missiles is to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons in the first place.
With their abandonment of the diplomatic efforts involving Russia, Japan, China, and South Korea, the Bush regime failed miserably.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:53 pmExcept that it doesn’t work, it didn’t work in 2000, it didn’t work on 9/11, it didn’t work in 2003 when Korea started processing those rods, nor does the missile defense system work in 2006. It’s as useless as Hastert and Foley.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:55 pmHe was asking a LOT of foreign policy questions at the time, going around country by country.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:55 pm- - I’ll bet you any amount of money that Incurious George also had to ask where North Korea was on a map.
Once again, a boondoggle.
Also, it was not their plan to build up the US military. The entire focus was on your stupid missile program. As a matter of fact, before 9/11, Rumsfeld was thinking of decreasing the US military forces by 10%. Keep pretending that you guys are tough on national security, nobody believes it.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:55 pm“Why should I care about North Korea?â€
Beautiful mind….anyone?
October 9th, 2006 at 12:56 pmThe way to prevent rogue states from attacking the United States with nuclear missiles is to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons in the first place.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:58 pmWith their abandonment of the diplomatic efforts involving Russia, Japan, China, and South Korea, the Bush regime failed miserably.
Comment by Lt. Bighorn — October 9, 2006 @ 12:53 pm
You mean we failed because we did not have direct talks with NK right? I think we should have but BushCo. Tm. was too proud. This is all Cheny by the way, Rove probably got beotch slapped out of the room when he tried to put his two cents in on this one…
Wow, you will notice that Bush is thumbing his nose at the Geneva conventions back when he was just a governor.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:58 pmThe funniest part is that Exley thinks that the republicans who are against technology and science can actually build something out of a sci-fi movie.
Good frickin luck.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:01 pmBwahahahhaaa, Cheney is weak on National Security!!
October 9th, 2006 at 1:02 pmIt’s so obvious why Bush doesn’t give a hoot about North Korea getting nukes and why the U.S. government’s response will be so lackluster. It’s because North Korea poses no threat to Israel, which is all the Bushies and his filthy, lying neoconservative handlers care about. That subtext was even clear in Bush’s press conference today, when he basically said North Korea would be in REAL trouble if it gave its nuclear technology to any country that posed a threat to our interests (i.e. Israel, Israel, Israel.) Bush and his evil scumbag buddies should just come out as members of Likud.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:02 pmOctober 9th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
Exley,
I am waiting for your answer to my question:
Do you seriously believe that missile defense has any connection to national security?
October 9th, 2006 at 1:05 pmDidn’t Clinton have North Korea under control at the time with his energy-for-no-nukes deal? You’re right, Bush should have known that he didn’t and as the Governor of Texas should have done something.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:06 pm#30 - Exley you ignorant slut!
The missile defense shield of which speak has been shown to be, at best, inneffective, and, at worst, completely useless. Had Bush really cared about N. Korea’s nuclear ambitions, we would have engaged them diplomatically. Unfortunately for all of us (yes, even you) and our allies, this (mis)administration views diplomacy as a sign of weakness (which is so Orwellian and antithetical to the truth that it makes my head hurt). The facts here are that for all your ilk’s bleeting and babbling on Clinton’s interaction with N. Korea, the Uranium enrichment facility at PyongYang was inoperational between 1994 and 2000. They only turned it back on when the Bush administration reniged on the deal we hade made with them 6 years earlier. This happened on Bush’s watch (JUST LIKE 9/11 DID), the Bush administration had more than ample warning that this was what Kim Jong Il was planning, and (just like they have with every other impending crisis) they did NOTHING to stop it. You and your ilk can blather and bloviate all you want about, “But, but but Clinton” and how strong your fearless leader is but, facts remain facts:
“Yippee Kay Eyyyyy!” is a failed foreign policy that can be laid to rest squarely at the feet of Bush and members of his administration. We are less safe now than we were in the days of “duck and cover” (the cold war) and it’s THIS administration’s fault and noone elses.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:08 pmNice attempt at diverting attention from the main point, boys and girls. The point is not whether missile defense can work (Of course it can, by the way) or whether it is the best way to protect the U.S. against rogue states, like North Korea…The point is that, as I have now demonstrated, Candidate Bush was indeed thinking about and concerned with North Korea, contary to this ridiculous posting by ThinkProgress….
Facts, people. Learn some history and stick with the facts.
Next topic!
October 9th, 2006 at 1:13 pmSo how’s the right planning to blame this on Clinton? I can’t wait…
October 9th, 2006 at 1:13 pmSeth II,
There’s a reason GWB is called Incurious George.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:15 pmWow if Exley speaks for other right-wingers, that’s scary. Our only line of defense against attack is a weapons shield? No diplomacy or compromise to make the world safe? I thought you right-wingers worshipped Reagan. Even though he was hell-bent on the “star wars” initiatives and had shitty domestic policies (in my opinion), he was a hell of a diplomat (even when his memory started to go). W and Rice are not! The best way to safe gaurd a nation is diplomacy. A strong military rarely use combined with the willingness to compromise is far more effective than using the military every day to force your ideals on others. Less blood is shed, as well.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:20 pmBS…i’m going to have to call BS on this one. i’ve read this in bob woodward’s book. the context is that bush is toying with a possible presidential run, but he’s admittedly lacking in knowledge of foreign affairs, and he seeks out Bandar’s advice. so he wasnt just dismissing N. Korea’s importance as the quote seems to suggest. Still, the story here is that he’s seeking foreign policy advice from Saudia Arabia’s top diplomat. that should be newsworthy…and frightening
October 9th, 2006 at 1:21 pmThe point is not whether missile defense can work (Of course it can, by the way
Comment by Exley — October 9, 2006 @ 1:13 pm
Exley,
No, missile defense can’t work, and whether it can or can’t work is exactly THE POINT. It doesn’t work, and it has no realistic prospect of ever working, and that FACT is well known in the defense community. Missile defense is about creating the APPEARANCE of security, and also about enriching defense contractors.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:22 pmAmerica is cured by the Bush’s
October 9th, 2006 at 1:24 pmReichWingNuts are proving to be VERY VERY weak on National Security.
It’s the wrong time to have weak perverts running the country!
October 9th, 2006 at 1:25 pmBy the way, this all started with the, “Axis of Evil” speech… He was trying to be a tough guy… This is analogous to the,”Bring em’ on” quote where he was trying to be a tough guy again…and the ever so wonderful,”Dead or Alive”… This just shows that Bush has no ability to diffuse situations through back channel dialogue. And all this began after 9/11, when BushCo wanted to go the militant route and push away everyone in order to push their agenda…
October 9th, 2006 at 1:25 pmThe Bush Doctrine of targeting Countries and Governments that have terrorists among their people doesn’t work… You have to target the terrorists themselves; through isolation tactics, firm pressure on the governments, intelligence gathering and special operations to catch and kill them…If you catch them and you cannot prosecute them then what’s the point? The Bush Doctrine has been a failure because; it turns people against us, it enables regime governments when we cannot pressure them, it isolates us and our ability to go after terrorists, it emboldens terrorists when we fail. We need these governments to help us catch the terrorists in their countries.
Anyone who has been associated with the “Alpha” program knows the challenges of “missile defense”.
StarWars would be very costly and would be full of “holes” in the system.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:27 pmFunny, the words “missile defense can work” don’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:29 pmWow if Exley speaks for other right-wingers, that’s scary.
Comment by Parrotlover77 — October 9, 2006 @ 1:20 pm
I think to some extent Exley does speak for other right wingers, and yes, it is very scary. This is a person who cannot admit that he is wrong about Bush, Iraq, right wingerness, or just about anything else. This is a person who bathes daily in his own ignorance in a futile attempt to defend his ideologically-driven, reality-challenged belief system. There is no end to the semantic tangle he will weave to defend these beliefs.
To this day there are people who defend the war in Vietnam in its entirety, claiming that we were actually winning it when we pulled out, and who defend Nixon against Watergate (everyone on the WSJ editorial board, for example). Even with 30 years of hindsight these people are not embarrassed about it. And so I expect Exley and the other 30 percenters to defend Bush and the war in Iraq for the rest of their confused lives.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:31 pmCandidate Bush was indeed thinking about and concerned with North Korea, contary to this ridiculous posting by ThinkProgress….Comment by Exley — October 9, 2006 @ 1:13 pm
October 9th, 2006 at 1:37 pmHe was “thinking” about a way to sell the Missile Defense System to us via the vehicle of North Korean’s REMOTE POSSIBILITY that they could even get a missile to strike us…
There isn’t anything that Bush could say that could convince me that Bush is “Concerned” with anything on North Korea. Please.. give us a break already!
Just keep telling yourself that. Mean while, the rest of us will be over her in reality. You need to go get treatment. Stop taking whatever it is that the republicans send you.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:42 pmLet’s see…ThinkProgress hosts a thread that claims that then-Gov. Bush was unconcerned about North Korea and was aking why he should care about that country.
I post information, including a quote from Dubya’s 2000 acceptance speech and a plank from the GOP 2000 platform, that Bush was talking about the threat posed by a nuclear North Korea at the time ThinkProgress claims he was unconcerned. Indeed, here is an excerpt given by then-Gov. Bush in 1999:
We must show American power and purpose in strong support for our Asian friends and allies – for democratic South Korea across the Yellow Sea… for democratic Japan and the Philippines across the China seas … for democratic Australia and Thailand. This means keeping our pledge to deter aggression against the Republic of Korea, and strengthening security ties with Japan. This means expanding theater missile defenses among our allies.
This one wasn’t even close, ladies and gents…ThinkProgress is caught in yet another lie. Exley wins … again
Next.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:49 pmEveryone wants to point to Bush’s failures at diplomacy for N. Koreas desire for nukes. The program has been ongoing for at least 15 years. Despite Clinton’s greatest hopes and dreams, nobody believes that N. Korea ever stop pursuing nukes. This is what was happening: Diplomats don’t want N. Korea to have the nukes, so they negotiate. N. Korea demands a billion here and a billion there in return for a promise not to sell missiles or to discontinue the program. Guess what, they lie. They get the money and don’t do what they say. For me, I would rather keep the money that is allowing these despots to stay in power and pursue some rational avenue of resolution. I would rather forego the empty promises that fuel progressive contentment. As a good friend told me once, ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’
October 9th, 2006 at 1:57 pmExley
Okay, Geography is obviously not Bush’s strong suit according to that quote (Last I checked Australia was a continent, not part of Asia.) Also, Bush is simply listing America’s Asian allies, it doesn’t mean he knows terribly much about the issues faced by any of them
Anyway, Woodward is talking about a quote before Bush came to power, and possibly before the quotes you are talking about.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:00 pmComment by paul — October 9, 2006 @ 1:57 pm
Sweet! Somebody (Paul) finally got Clinton in on the blame game by throwing out statements that are unprovable and claiming they are fact! I knew it was only a matter of time before Clinton was blamed and W was absolved. Right wingers are so predictable in their delusions.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pmAccording to press reports in late 2002, the CIA concluded that North Korea accelerated its uranium enrichment program in the 1999, 2000, and 2001.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:10 pmLooks like the administration’s displomacy has provoked another country into acting provocatively.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:11 pmNorth Korea’s secret highly enriched uranium (HEU) program appears to date from at least 1996. Hwang Jang-yop, a Communist Party secretary who defected in 1997, has stated that North Korea and Pakistan agreed in the summer of 1996 to trade North Korean long- range missile technology for Pakistani HEU technology.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:12 pmMore evidence to prove that the Bush Administration and the Republican Party-Soft on Terror. Soft on National Security.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:13 pmSo, just like with the Iraq war, Bush wanted to sell a failed progrm to our allies. Good job. I love these quotes Exley, keep them coming.
First quote: Bush attacks Geneva conventions
Second quote: Bush screwing over our allies.
Batting 1000.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:13 pmIn March 2000, President Clinton notified Congress that he was waiving certification that “North Korea is not seeking to develop or acquire the capability to enrich uranium.”
October 9th, 2006 at 2:13 pmOther information dates North Korea-Pakistan cooperation to 1993. The Clinton Administration reportedly learned of it in 1998 or 1999, and a Department of Energy report of 1999 cited evidence of the program.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:14 pmExpanding missile defense (which may or may not work) while North Korea expands its nuclear arsenal is a heck of a plan indeed.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:15 pmThe Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on June 9, 2000, the contents of a “detailed report” from Chinese government sources on a secret North Korean uranium enrichment facility inside North Korea’s Mount Chonma.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:16 pmpaul, you got links or is it more tripe. Or do you not know how to post a link?
October 9th, 2006 at 2:16 pmIn talks held in 1999 and 2000, North Korea demanded $1 billion annually in exchange for a promise not to export missiles.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:18 pmHey paul,
Just about everybody here, including the right and left KNEW the Norht Korea was working on Nukes. What’s you point? Or do you have one?
October 9th, 2006 at 2:19 pmWorth a repost. How Paul Wolfowitz saw it (PNAC):
October 9th, 2006 at 2:23 pm“Let’s look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil.â€
jMiles #7
Bushiva gets NO sympathy, empathy or any other kind of “consideration” here…
…that basta*rd is a TRAITOR…
…and ANYONE who defends him is seriously judgementally impaired…
…COPULATE Bushiva!
…don’t waste your energy defending him ever…
October 9th, 2006 at 2:24 pmThat saying is obsolete because Bush still has a thirty to forty percent approval rating.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:25 pmthe pres. this morning ” this test is a threat to the international security” ehhmmm…..the only threat to interantional security is the US foreign policy. The US is the ONLY nation to hace used nuclear weapon on civilians to date, the only nation to continue the proliferation on such weapons (now joined by north korea and maybe iran). North K is worried the US will invade them…and why shouldn’t them?
October 9th, 2006 at 2:27 pmAs long as the US will keep on invading countries, support coups and terror groups around the world, this kind of outcome will only increase.
thanks GW…..really.
At last someone or is it more correctly place willing to defy the bloody fascists running the US Govt.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:31 pm“Unfortunately, North Korea never stopped their nuclear weapons development, as was revealed in February of 2005, when North Korea announced to the world they had a nuclear bomb.”
My point is this: Main steam media and liberals are spinning the responsibility for N. Korean nukes at the Bush Administration and poor diplomacy. It needs to be understood, Bilateral negotiations did not work. N. Korea has been lying to everyone (China included). Negotiations, the most politically correct solution to every problem sometimes doesn’t solve your problems, sometimes it defers and complicates them.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:32 pmNK is an important topic…
…OPEC’s reduction of production led by Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria is an important topic…
…Foley and Hastert is an important topic…
…right wing Repulsivescum manipulation of gas prices just before the election is an important topic…
…the suspension of habeas corpus is an important topic…
…Bob Woodward’s book is an important topic…
…Karl Rove’s assistant’s resignation in relation to the abramoff is an important topic…
…The rapid increase in U.S. troop fatalities and Iraq in general are important topics…
…Repulsivescum John Warner’s remarks about changing the course in Iraq is an important topic…
…increased national debt and the trillions we’ll all have to repay, (because we’ve been lining Halliburton and Cheney and Bush’s pockets for five years now), is an important topic…
My point is:
We (thinking Americans) can ALL chew gum and think at the same time…
…any anxiety about someone’s missing something important is misplaced anxiety because…
…anyone who can’t see how fu*ked up America (and the world at large) is since Bushiva and L’il Dick’s criminal cabal occupied our government…
…and anyone who STILL wants to vote Repulsivescum at this point in time…
…is GONE!
October 9th, 2006 at 2:36 pmI agree with comment #7
October 9th, 2006 at 2:37 pmI think what he MEANT to say was;
This is unfair - I’m no fan of the f***ing braindead a**hole, and I like to think we’re better than the right - but still, when someone this freaking stupid asks questions this moronic, and is still allowed to carry around the nuclear football - we’re clearly in a world of sh**.
Anyway - there are a million things to beat up on him for - and altho it might be pleasant to do so with a 36″ length of rebar - we should hold off until after impeachment, removal, indictment, trial, conviction and imprisonment.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:37 pmI am not a fan of the president, but this is taken out of context. I read the book and the quote was just a question about North Korea. He seemed to want to know about it.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:44 pmI am reading the book as we speak. I agreed with most of your postings here. The issue however, is that GWB was not ready to be president neither then nor now. By his own admission he did not know much about foreign policy, which if you think about it is critical when you talk about the president of the most powerful nation in the world, and why we are seeing the mistakes made and the arrogance to “stay the course†instead of revaluating a new plan to fix the mess. This does not mean raising a white flag. Now if you look at his dad’s resume, he had the credentials and experience when he became president. GWB on the other hand was a neophyte that even his family did not believe he could win the elections in Texas. Thus, shame on us who voted for him and helped electing him as our president.
Final comment, it is time for the mild conservatives on both political parties to break away their ties with their respective political parties, and start a new party that REALLY represents the majority of this country.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:48 pmExley - why do you always count the administration’s Lip Service as the equal substitute for real activity carried out successfully? It’s easy to make the lip service indisputable, but, after years of running the gov’t., the gop and more notably the current white house have not delivered the goods on a scrap of it, aside from enriching DoD contractors and the overprivileged. The SDI program is a black hole for cash, from which nothing of demonstrable use has ever emerged (dating back to old turkey neck’s star wars b.s.).
a complete inability and unwillingness to engage in international diplomacy is not, and has never been, the key to success for any nation, anywhere, at any time. it demonstrates a glaring lack - of knowledge, skill, comprehension, diligence, sincerity, and moral fiber.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:50 pmNo balme for nukes, North Korea made those. Blame for poor diplomacy, hell yes.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:59 pmwhat this article doesn’t mention is Bush’s next words were, “What’s a North Korea?”
October 9th, 2006 at 3:06 pmWe had a working missile defense shield in the 1970’s. It was called Sprint and there were two successful intercepts in two attempts using explosive war heads (There were other launch tests, but only two involved actual intercepts.). The final design was to have a one kiloton nuclear warhead with a blast radius of 1-2 miles. The program was canceled when the ABM treaty took effect. The explosive warheads used shrapnel and had a blast radius of about 500 feet. The nuclear version was not tested in the atmosphere because of the ban on atmospheric testing. The entire system used over the horizon radar and the solid fuel rocket that powered it had a count-down cycle of about one minute (run diagnostics, fire). Because it was not a ram vehicle, it only had to be within a hundred feet or so of the incoming warhead (nuclear version - 1 mile) and decoys would have disappeared from the picture at its 16 mile working altitude. Acceleration was about 100 Gs at launch, 20 Gs after the first stage fell off. Time to target at 16 miles up was about 12 seconds.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:06 pmFirst can anyone who has read the book confirm that the passage quoted from the Woodward book is genuine?
Second, although North Korea is the one truly at fault - they built and tested the bomb - what happened over the weekend could have been prevented by either the CLinton or Bush administrations.
North Korea’s plan has always been pretty clear - use their nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip to open relations with the US and Japan and preserve the Kim Il Sung/Kim Jong Il leadership.
Although the US and North Korea came to an agreement in 1994 that prevented war and laid the basis for normalization of relations between the two countries, the US has dragged its feet for the last 12 years, and the Clinton and Bush administrations are both responsibile. I think its arguable that the Bush gang did make things measureably worse though, especially when, in what was an act of rhetorical convenience for them, they included North Korea in their ridiculous ‘Axis of Evil’.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:09 pmWaltTheMan.
1970, wasn’t that before the republicans took control of Congress and start using their Reverse Midas Touch on everything?
October 9th, 2006 at 3:10 pmWhether or not that quote above is correct, one thing remains clear, this administration has not handled the NK situation well.
They’re asking for $11B for next year’s missile defense spending and so far the program has not been a success. The intercepts that have been successful were rigged.
“They made intercepts in five out of 10 attempts, and these were under highly scripted circumstances where we knew what the test target would do, where it would fly, and how it would show up on our radar screens. Real-life circumstances are never that obliging. “
October 9th, 2006 at 3:19 pm#110 correct and by going to the multilateral negotiations route, and REFUSING Bilateral negotiations; they screwed everyone… Now, by still REFUSING to negotiate Bilaterally, they are screwing us further. Look, BushCo started this with the “Axis of Evil” sh*t and NK wants an agreement that the US will not attack NK if they end their Nuke Program and we still wont negotiate? What the F*ck?
October 9th, 2006 at 3:19 pmIncurious George.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:21 pmAlso, Bush loves that Nk just did their test… It totally gets Foley offline, Rove is F*cking loving this. Spudge_Boy, I am way ahead of you on this, I posted this morning what we all knew when we first heard this morning. It’s kind of obvious actually.. I’m with you though.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:23 pmBush is a psychopathic bully. (BTW, folks, just do a little research on the almost direct correlation between abuse of small animals as a child [absolutely confirmed Bush behavior] and the development of sociopathic behavior as an adult.)
Unfortunately, when a bully comes up against somebody stronger, all they can do is whine and run away.
Bush is starting the whining process this week. Next week this will HAVE to stop being an issue. Rove used Iraq and 9/11 to spin Bush and the GOP (Grand Old Pedophiles) as the “protectors” because he was able to spin (especially to the idiots that watch FOX) that Iraq was a pro-active attempt to protect the USA from more 9/11’s. He won’t be able to spin the GOP or Bush as protecting us from NK nukes because he will doing NOTHING the whole time because there is NOTHING he can do.
Send troops to South Korea to man the border and “show strength and solidarity with our Asian allies.” Unlikely, since we have no troops left to send.
Bomb strategic targets in NK to destroy the plants? Only if he wants WWIII.
Talk tough and the UN and then slink home a “miserable failure” (google that one if you want)? Most likely.
Bush has failed totally at controlling NK’s appetite for a weapon of self-protection against a massive superpower who has demonstrated a willingness to invade a country that had not made any attempt to harm it and “fix the intelligence” in the process. In addition, NK must be feeling a little threatened since it is one of three countries in the Bush-described “axis of Evil” and one has already been attacked, preemptively, while the second is being threatened. They are just getting ready for the likelihood that they will be the third.
Clinton had cameras in the nuke plants and inspectors on the ground and was TRYING through bribery/diplomacy to keep the situation under control until the Chinese could come around to believing it was in THEIR best interests to control NK or until KSI died. The neo-cons abandoned that strategy on day 1 of their stolen presidency.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:25 pmBy the way, who was it that pulled us out of the ABM treaty so we could build a crappy Missile Defence System?
October 9th, 2006 at 3:28 pm#111 - Spudge_Boy,
October 9th, 2006 at 3:31 pmIt sure is! I only remember the program because I happened to be eating outside at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA when they test launched one of the things at Vandenburg. It was gone in what seemed like a heartbeat.
Sorry, jmiles, you are the one thinking this out the wrong way. This is not out of context. This account of a man about to become President fits a pitiful pattern of intellectual impotence and disengagement. An illiterate egomaniac. Ah, but a fighter pilot! A “War President.” The Decider. God forbid that he should read a half a book about one of the most dangerous countries in the world. (God forbid that he should read any book above a 2nd grade level.) And you respond by lecturing critics to take it easy on the guy? You think it does not matter? Think again.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:33 pm#119 Yes, and I would like to add, He froze in the classroom on 9/11 and other instances. He flew jets in the RESERVE…. So he has never seen combat. He is a wannabe…He is playing Air guitar because he can’t play guitar.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:40 pmUNITED NATIONS - The United States proposed stringent U.N. sanctions Monday against North Korea, including a trade ban on military and luxury items, the power to inspect all cargo entering or leaving the country, and freezing assets connected with its weapons programs.
What it should read .
We as Americans are too scared to attack a nuclear country , we are dedicated to attacking smaller less armed countries so were gonna stop these guys from eating MacDonalds and drinking Coffee and watching Large Plasma screen TV’s
next scenario
October 9th, 2006 at 3:41 pmA Fishing Boat Exploded a Nuclear Bomb near California today because the people of north Korea were not allowed Big Macs
UNITED NATIONS - The United States proposed stringent U.N. sanctions Monday against North Korea, including a trade ban on military and luxury items, the power to inspect all cargo entering or leaving the country, and freezing assets connected with its weapons programs.
What it should read .
We as Americans are too scared to attack a nuclear country , we are dedicated to attacking smaller less armed countries so were gonna stop these guys from eating MacDonalds and drinking Coffee and watching Large Plasma screen TV’s
next scenario
October 9th, 2006 at 3:41 pmA Fishing Boat Exploded a Nuclear Bomb near California today because the people of north Korea were not allowed Big Macs
#119….” I was in Crawford and I said I was looking for a book to read and Laura said you oughtta try Camus, I also read three Shakespeare’s.” What a F*cking Retard…..
October 9th, 2006 at 3:47 pmUn-frickin’-believable!
October 9th, 2006 at 3:48 pmEverytime I think the guy’s stupidity has reached its lowest point, there is another yet lower level revealed.
Disgraceful - good point, MDI won’t stop a fishing boat any more than it stopped a bunch of guys with box cutters.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:48 pmRen, It was George W. Bush who, thankfully, withdrew the United States from the antiquated ABM Treaty, which was hindering America’s ability to defend itself.
Another brilliant move by President Bush, for which we can all be grateful.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:48 pmDid you know that America killed over 2 million (yes, 2,000,000) civilians in N.Korea during the Korean War (Bruce Cumings, 1990, The Origins of the Korean War, vol.2), using high explosive, napalm and by bombing dams? Do you wonder that they feel threatened?
October 9th, 2006 at 3:48 pmYes, because 5000 nuclear warheads aren’t enough. We must be able to blow up the Earth 15 times over, not just 10. Moron.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:51 pmI’m with Jmiles on this one- although my knee-jerk reaction was, of course, “what a moron… again.” After reading the excerpt, there are clearly negative things to be said, but most of it, in my opinion, has to do with Bush’s “diplomatic flair” and truly what a back-slapping hillbilly/intellectual lightweight/uninquisitive simpleton he comes across as, even in the company of world leaders. In fact, he seems to consider those moments “havens” simply because he’s off-the-record and free to act like a rich, redneck rockstar (ie. wannabe fighter pilot, or part-owner of the Texas Rangers) instead of engaging in any problem-solving or diplomatic efforts.
Ok ok so I got off my first point though, which is- I can’t fault Bush for asking that question because it was, first, while he was still Governor (I know, that’s not a “lockbox” of an alibi but still…) and second, in his own Texas-frat-boyish, trust fund draining, keg-humping way he was seeking out information on NK.
So i have to agree with jmiles that this is beneath standards for TP and that the quote is taken out of context unfortunately and hopefully it won’t happen again (because it becomes red-meat for the wackos) especially when, as I detailed, there is plenty of ammunition on every single page of this book.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:51 pmHaving nuclear weapons is the only way of ensuring that you will not be attacked by the extremists in Washington.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:54 pmI don’t think we can come down too hard on TP, even if that quote is taken out of context, because it’s painfully obvious that for over 5 years Bush has NOT cared about North Korea!
And we all knew that it would come to this. Perhaps that’s what Rove wanted. Maybe he wanted a big confrontation.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:57 pmIt really doesn’t matter when the comment was made; it indicates the level of understanding and curiosity in the man’s pea brain.
October 9th, 2006 at 4:00 pmMost of us can’t do a thing about N. Korea regardless, but does that mean we shouldn’t try to learn from the past and think about the future?
That’s far afield from deep thinking, but for Bushie, it is ponderous.
The fratboy,cheerleading, rich kid has never changed. He is a modern day Gatsby. Actually, as leader of the US, he is more like a modern day Nero.
Having this man in charge is more frightening as time goes on.
So this quote was apparently from back in the days when candidate Gov. Bush said in a debate with Al Gore that America should have a humble foreign policy. That really was a long time ago in an America far far away.
October 9th, 2006 at 4:07 pmWhen Marco POlo brought gun powder to Italy they couldn’t keep it a secret. What in the world makes us think we can stop nuke proliferation?
October 9th, 2006 at 4:11 pmlw - was that around the time that Bush said that he wasn’t interested in nation-building?
October 9th, 2006 at 4:13 pmWho could have imagined? How many times have we heard this?
October 9th, 2006 at 4:25 pmI hope this isn’t there October surprise that Rove has been promising.
What better way to rally their base then by creating another boogieman to be afraid of? I’m sure we in the US will start hearing how we need to elect Republicans because only they can protect us. The rest of the world must be laughing their ass’s off how the Mighty American now fear everyone and everything.
Seismic data from the DPRK explosion seems to indicate that blast was below 500 tons of TNT. In other words, it was a fizzler (small bang for the buck, lots of stuff to clean up). This is akin to the Pakistani weapons which fail to utilize neutron focusing techniques developed by technologically competent members of the nuclear club, but then, it is believed that the DPRK is using technology imported from Pakistan.
October 9th, 2006 at 4:36 pmI’m thinking of writing a sitcom about a frat boy who is elected president of the United States. In between bong hits and hazing rituals he gets into hilarious antics in foreign countries that make Homer Simpson look like Averell Harriman. My working title is Boy Meets World 2: Revenge of the Trust Fund Baby.
October 9th, 2006 at 4:39 pm#138 - Seismic data from the DPRK explosion seems to indicate that blast was below 500 tons of TNT. In other words, it was a fizzler (small bang for the buck, lots of stuff to clean up). This is akin to the Pakistani weapons which fail to utilize neutron focusing techniques developed by technologically competent members of the nuclear club, but then, it is believed that the DPRK is using technology imported from Pakistan.
If these are meant to be “dirty” nukes, it wouldn’t take a lot of punch to make a real mess.
Yes, the approach came from Pakistan as part of a weapons trade to cover debt that one of the parties could never really pay for.
October 9th, 2006 at 4:41 pm# 130
October 9th, 2006 at 4:57 pmThe neocons might be extremists but they are not as extremist as the North Korean leadership.
What a dunce. It’s amazing that people think so little about the elective process that someone like Bush is allowed to inhabit such a powerful position.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:07 pmRussia’s defense minister said Monday that North Korea’s nuclear test was equivalent to 5,000 tons to 15,000 tons of TNT.
That would be far greater than the force given by South Korea’s geological institute, which estimated it at just 550 tons of TNT.
By comparison the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima during World War II was equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT.
In 1996, France detonated a bomb beneath Fangataufa Atoll about 750 miles southeast of Tahiti that had a yield of about 120,000 tons of TNT.
AMERICAS KARMA FOR KILLING 2 MILLION NORTH KOREANS IS COMING HOME - According to your constitution you should not be getting involved in other countries disputes - You forfathers are much wiser than the idiots you elect today ??????
October 9th, 2006 at 5:11 pmhttp://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9820
This must be one of those Exley, Seth_II type lawyer luminaries at work.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:16 pm#139. Jim Source. That’s a great idea. You could spend most of the show lamenting how your party can’t scrape together one original thought or canidate that can displace him.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:24 pmJapan’s anti-nuclear stance has been based since the 1950s on the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” that Japan would not manufacture, possess, or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. Declassified documents show that the U.S. frequently violated the third principle with the acquiescence of the Japanese government by bringing ships armed with nuclear weapons into Japanese ports. Scuttling the second principle as well thus won’t require a major stretch.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:26 pm#106. tom baker. ‘it demonstrates a glaring lack - of knowledge, skill, comprehension, diligence, sincerity, and moral fiber.’
I’m assuming you would defend the recent performance of the United Nations, if you are such a proponent of international diplomacy.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:28 pm114 #
Heres another link to what your saying
That changed when the Cheney administration took control of the government in 2000. War has now been privatized, and the shining examples of this privatization are Afghanistan and Iraq. As you read this there are approximately 100,000-125,000 American civilian contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their jobs range from providing security to desk work to interrogating prisoners to driving convoy trucks to clearing unexploded ordnance. A year back, in November 2005, the US Department of Labor listed 428 civilian contractors dead and 3,963 wounded in Iraq - none of which are ever counted in the official casualty counts.
Employing civilian contractors supposedly saves money in the long run and, more importantly, frees trained soldiers for battle. The notion of low expenditure stemmed from the assumption that civilian contractors were hired for temporary/emergency engagements. This assumption no longer holds worth in the face of the current long-term (permanent) guerrilla war (read-Iraq and Afghanistan) without clear front-lines.
Given the astronomical profits posted by these defense contractors, in addition to widespread fraud and waste, it is difficult to believe that any administration would want to adhere to this model, unless of course certain members of that administration were financially profiting from it.
Those vague front lines stretch all the way back home, for it was at home that Tim Eysselinck became one of the thousands of uncounted and unaccounted-for civilian casualties in Cheney’s so-called war on terror.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:30 pmThe largest nuclear blast was the “Monster Bomb” set off by Russia in ‘62 or ‘63 that was 54 Mega Tons. That is equal to 54 million tons of dynamite. So, to show just who is stronger, over the course of roughly a year, America set off 100 nuclear devices in the atmospere.
Go Team America!
October 9th, 2006 at 5:31 pmUsing NK as our standard of comparison does not help restore my confidence in our current government. That’s like saying that at least our torture of prisoners isn’t as bad as Saddam Hussein’s. May be true, but is that the standard that we want to hold America up to? (or down to?)
October 9th, 2006 at 5:31 pmStay the course, yah that’s original. Say Paul what do you think of the ‘Baker Commission’ and they alternative that Murtha came up with a while back?
You know that redeployment idea he was lambasted for? Seems James Baker now calls it an ‘alternative to “the course”
How original!! An ‘alternative to cut and run’
October 9th, 2006 at 5:33 pmEverybody from Russia , Japan , Iran and European Countries say
North Korea is acting against America Hostilities
Karma is catching up so fast for America …BOOOOOM
October 9th, 2006 at 5:33 pmPaul, I won’t let you in the focus group if you can’t behave.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:34 pm#152. So what were they acting against in the 90’s when they began the program?
October 9th, 2006 at 5:36 pmOctober 9th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Nuclear testing by country
United States: 1,054 tests by official count (involving at least 1,151 devices, 331
Soviet Union: 715 tests (involving 969 devices) by official count [2], most at Semipalatinsk Test Site and Novaya Zemlya, and a few more at various sites in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:38 pmFrance: 210 tests, mostly at Reggane and Ekker in Algeria, and Fangataufa and Moruroa in French Polynesia.
United Kingdom: 45 tests (21 in Australian territory, including 9 in mainland South Australia at Maralinga and Emu Field, many others in the U.S. as part of joint test series)
China: 45 tests (23 atmospheric and 22 underground, all conducted at Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base, in Malan, Xinjiang)
India: between 5 and 6 tests, at Pokhran.
Pakistan: between 3 and 6 tests, at Chagai Hills.
North Korea: 1 test at Hwaderi.
Did I hear somewhere that the NK test today was not exactly as they hoped? If that is the case, and the world has gotten a bit more time, isn’t this the opportunity for intense diplomatic negotiations - BEFORE anything more happens. Even if the test was all that NK had hoped for, isn’t this still the time for diplomacy? Bush calling the guy a “pygmie” is not helpful. Condi Rice is going to need assistance because diplomacy is not her strong suit (if she has one).
October 9th, 2006 at 5:47 pmWe need the adults to take charge here - not Bolton, certainly not Bush (not until he has been perfectly tutored and rehearsed), but he will have to enter into the picture eventually.
We have an ADD president in need of remedial history and geography lessons in addition to tutoring on the presidency.