U.S. tries to woo N. Korea with diplomacy

Let me tell you a quick story. As a therapist who works intimately with people in their homes, sometimes I walk into a home where because of the way the children act, or because of something that was said, I get the sneaking suspicion that a parent or guardian is very much abusing the child(ren) in some way that is not making itself known immediately. Many of my clients are mandated by social workers or the justice system to have therapy in their homes and thus they are compelled to be cooperative and try to throw snoopers, such as myself off the track. While my first instincts are to use a heavy just to let them know who's boss and that I'm watching them, unless I'm lucky enough to see an familial explosion firsthand, I'll never get to the truth. If I can't get anymore than surface stuff out of my clients then I can't help them. So, when the stick fails me, I have come to very much depend on the carrot approach. I become their ally. I become their advocate. If I suspect that a parent, guardian, or other child is hurting somebody behind closed doors the way to get to the bottom if the issue is to join with the alleged perpetrator. A guilty person is more likely to slip up when they are comfortable than when they are always hypervigilant. Eventually the facade falls and I can do the work of protecting the child(ren).

Now some might say that after all this joining and allying and so forth, it's too late to protect the child. I say to that, I cannot help anyone unless I'm actually in the house. Furthermore, if I'm wrong I do not want tear apart a family where there is no abuse going. It's better in the end, a lesser choice of evils, to reserve judgement and wait for the enemy to make a mistake I can work with.

Why is this important? Because just as I am usually ready to employ the carrot even though I may be doing business with an abuser, it would appear that this same strategy is being used vis a vis the Bush administration with N. Korea. According to the below article, it seems that Bush and company have decided to back away from their usual bombastic rhetoric and will instead seek a diplomatic solution. Given the involvement of China and Russia with North Korea and their history of helping Iran develop their own nuclear weapons, the US has very much found itself between a rock and a hard place. It's hard to take seriously any military threat coming out of Washington when China is the main country acting as N. Korea's benefactor and nobody wants a war with China, at this time. Also, seeing as we're having difficulties still in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as new anti-terrorism measures throughout Africa, I don't see how, short of our own nuclear attack, anyone can seriously think we're serious about deposing Kim Jong Ill.

I think the Bush administration is on the right track by persuing a diplomatic track with N. Korea. They must allow N. Korea to make that oh so important comfortable error. When that happens, and I'm sure it will, then the US can come before the court of world opinion and say, "dear friends, with regards to N. Korea, we have reached an impasse." Then maybe the world bodies will think about doing something tangible about that rogue regime. To continue to drive N. Korea away from the bargaining table only justifies their position in a world that looks for any reason to invalidate the US. The sooner the Bush administration joins with N. Korea, the sooner we can put an end to the disaster in South East Asia waiting to happen.

Here's the article:

Washington has shifted gears by dropping its hard-line stance in favor of a diplomatic solution that once and for all resolves the nuclear standoff with North Korea, says a former U.S. negotiator on the issue.

Kenneth Quinones, a former State Department officer in charge of North Korea issues, said in a lecture in Tokyo on Monday that the United States will likely try to avoid confronting North Korea for the sake of gaining some form of accord.

"During his first four years, President (George W.) Bush couldn't decide if he wanted to get rid of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il or seek a diplomatic decision," said Quinones, who was involved in the Clinton administration's 1994 negotiations on the Agreed Framework with Pyongyang. "I think he (Bush) has decided he wants a diplomatic solution."

Quinones was addressing the Institute for East Asian Studies at Keio University.

"My understanding is that the United States will try to exert the most flexibility (at the six-party talks)," Quinones said.

He speculated that the U.S. delegation could even shelve its demands for clarification on whether Pyongyang has a program to produce highly enriched uranium in return for a pledge-as an initial first step-to dismantle its plutonium reprocessing program.

On arrival in Beijing, U.S. chief delegate Christopher Hill stated that his delegation was "just trying to get acquainted, to review how we see things coming up, and compare notes."

On Monday, the U.S. and North Korean delegations met in a "businesslike manner" and agreed to work for substantial progress, according to U.S. government officials. (More)