Bill Clinton gets two US journalists pardoned from North Korea: UPDATED with a Bolton
(graphics via Reuters)
Wow, this is wonderful news. Bill Clinton helped our two journalists to get out of North Korea.
South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il issued a "special pardon" freeing two jailed American journalists after talks with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, North Korea's official news agency announced Wednesday.
Clinton, who arrived in North Korea Tuesday on an unannounced visit, met with the reclusive and ailing Kim for talks described by Pyongyang as "exhaustive." It was Kim's first meeting with a prominent Western figure since his reported stroke nearly a year ago.
The release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were arrested March 17 near the China-North Korea border, was a sign of North Korea's "humanitarian and peace-loving policy," the Korean Central News Agency reported.
State media said Clinton apologized on behalf of the women and relayed President Barack Obama's gratitude. The report said the visit would "contribute to deepening the understanding" between North Korea and the U.S.
I was listening to the Villagers today on TV talk like Clinton had an agenda opposite President Obama. This was incredibly swift. Good for him. I guess speaking with people that don't like us isn't a bad strategy after all, Mr. Kristol. I'm sure Laura Ling and Euna Lee would agree.
UPDATE: Poor John Bolton, the sad sack neocon didn't think it was a good idea either.
The point to be made on the Clinton visit is that the knee-jerk impulse for negotiations above all inevitably brings more costs than its advocates foresee. Negotiating from a position of strength, where the benefits to American interests will exceed the costs, is one thing. Negotiating merely for the sake of it, in the face of palpable recent failures, is something else indeed.
What an idiot. And here is still whining on FOX News:
BOLTON: But I worry that the outcome is a lot better for North Korea than for the United States. I mean this is a classic case of rewarding bad behavior, the seizure of these two basically innocent Americans. Obviously all of us want to get them out but we want it done in a way that doesn’t increase the risks in the future for other Americans seized by North Korea, seized by Iran, seized by other despotic regimes and then turned into pawns to get senior officials like former presidents to come and legitimize the regime in order to get them out.
Jeez, it’s not like Obama sent Clinton there with a cake, a Bible and U.S. weapons, like Ronald Reagan…
Now watch all the rightarded extremists start trying to spin that great job President Clinton did, claiming all kinds of insane Republidiot nonsense about treason, alien abductions, no end of frothing Republicamism. }:-}
I fully expect Hannity et al will start rumors that Clinton and Obama made some "deal" with the North Koreans....a "deal with the devil," so to speak.
Great job, President Clinton! I wonder if Bush could have done such a thing?
Surely you jest. Bush practice diplomacy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZPVw-Vl1ow
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Now now YS, I wasn't calling the General "Shirley".
Shirley is my name when I dress in drag!
Saucaaaaay!
i could see bush going to south america to try to save the cocaine crop. or to save the juniper berry harvest (needed for gin) or to help out quinine farmers (cant make tonic water without it)
other than that, no.
cooperating to get the release of the journalists..The backstory may be slow to come out but you can be sure that the Obama Admin had locked the deal before Bclinton put a foot on the plane..Clinton could not risk failure but was willing to give KJIll some street creds for his people..Few in the rest of the World will believe the propaganda coming out of N Korea!
The tense issue is the Iranian situation---it must not be seen to set a precedent for bribery---Little men and small minds-- Ahmidenijacket the runt and little kim jong! Oh, and hanratty, Limpbow, Beck and the ilke along with the repubs...are of the same cloth!
Bush is a coward and would never meet with people who consider the United States -- any Westernized power -- as the enemy. Hell, rightards think talking with people who disagree with them is a sign of weakness, if not outright treason.
Watch all the rightarded heads start exploding all over the mainstream media as the far right whacko loons get whipped in to a bubbling froth over President Clinton once again saving America's bacon.
Ron Paul is a racist gaybashing nutbag- be grateful he lost the election
The payoff to the N Koreans was Clinton's visit itself. But everyone knows that and no-one outside of N. Korea sees it as particularly significant.
and I don't think we made a deal with the devil to get these two released...KJI doesn't look like he's a happy camper in that pic.
Local right wing radio is alreadly all over this, calling Bill Clinton a traitor for sitting down with Kim Jong Il .
I guess righties would rather have sen those hostages die....
we should just air drop
bolton in n korea and see
how long he works at hard
labor before we bother acknowledging
he is even there.
and while we are at it, how about
the same for billo and beck and buchanan?
if the rethugs would have a choice to make, death or becoming a commie, you would hear "I'd rather be Red than Dead"
Fuck the rethugs.
Great job, President Clinton and the entire team who make this happen, including the Obama Admin. I watched the live stream on www.kabc.com, the best station in LA, live and everyone had tears when one of the women spoke.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
George Bush or John McCain would have "protected" these Americans by not "negotiating with thugs" and as a result they'd still be held captive. He would have then use Americas being held hostage to bomb North Korea which would have lead to another expensive war at taxpayer expense which would have pulled in the Chinese and our international reputation would have been drug through the mud was again.
Bill Clinton saved these Americans without us having to fire a shot, without an expensive endless war, without an escalating international conflict, and with our reputation still in tack. That sound you hear are right wing heads exploding.
I was going to say - a President McCain would have used it as an excuse to bomb the hell out of the starving N Koreans and sent in the troops.
The release of these two young reporters is such good news!
After all, we know how he feels about "the gooks" http://www.nathanielturner.com/gookjohnmccain...
Hell, Bush wouldn't understand even the simplest roadblocks and problems with trying to work up an assault across the demilitarized zone. He and his fellow Republinazi loons would be happy to walk Americans across the deadman zone, slaughtering 50,000 Americans if his little penis "manhood" was called in to question.
Which it is. }:-}
Well said!
Always willing to take one for the ladies.
I have to laugh. Yeah, would he have gone through the effort to rescue men? LOL!
Oh man, Clinton was a great President to watch, the perfect politician screwing whatever and whomever he wanted.
Clinton only screwed one person at a time. Repugs deal in volume .
No matter how much he screwed around, Clinton was still a better president than any Republican in the last 50 years. No contest.
Of course, considering how bad the Republican presidents were, the bar is set pretty low.
[.....]
.
me-oww!
Why didn't they send George Bush?
Send George W. Bush and see if North Korea would hold him to stand trial in the International World Court. That would have made North Korea everybody's hero -- except for rightards who hate America, hate the rule of law, hate equality, and hate everything our country stands for.
...do you ever wonder if Bush spends most of his post-preznit time in a drunken stupor, shoes off, stupified look on his face, sighing, "Thank God THAT'S over."
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
I expect that he spends most of his time snorting cocaine again, happy that he doesn't have to appear quasi sober in public any more.
No, I don't wonder. I know it. Every now and again he takes the dogs for a walk. He is good at picking up dog shit.
"Why didn't they send George Bush?"
Because an Adult would, and did, produce better results.
NOBODY 2012
Isn't that what he did as current-preznit (and, I suspect, as pre-preznit)? Well, that and take vacations. The disparity is truly shocking: how could he be so good at taking vacations when he was such an utter disaster at everything else?
I don't see George Bush or too many of his lackies doing a lot of world traveling pretty much for the rest of their lives. The police of any nation they choose to visit would be waiting when the plane landed, handcuffs ready.
but the N Koreans wouldn't agree to keep him.
Or John Bolton?
Of Condi Rice?
I love it when a plan comes together.
Get the reporters released AND for a special bonus . . .
RWNJ's going crazy spewing nonesense.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
A two fer.
Tuesday two fer.
Maybe John Insign on one of his C Street jaunts?
Oh yeah, that would be amusing. Send Sauah Palin or some other frothingly insane Creationist loon to North Korea to have him or her explain how Jesus works and how the United States has Jesus on their side to NK's leaderships.
That would be amusing. }:-}
What gives with John Bolton? This guy is a total a hole. Would he have us nuke NK for taking hostage these two innocent American citizens...? Blowing them to kingdom come as well?
Sure. Why not? We got the nuke. What are you waiting for?
That's exactly what he'd do. These people do not believe in reason and calm logic. They don't believe in understanding things. They want it all to be "whack them hard so they don't whack back", and you can see how well that worked out. It's a mental condition, an inability to see the advantage of acting like an adult. I'm sure there are several categories in the new DSM that will cover the syndrome nicely.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
That's Republicanism, a brand of behavior that they commit against America as well as internationally.
"Speak LOUDLY and carry a BIG gun, and USE it often"
There's a name for that. 'Monster truck diplomacy'.
"We don't trade arms for hostages, er uh, except when we actually do."
Whew...it's about time C&L got this story up. For fun, go to any right wing sight and watch the spin spin out of control. Awesome entertainment. The various right wing theories on why this is a bad thing are all the way in outer space.
in trade for reporters?
Easy Mick, I'm one of your token Texans.
The rest must leave.
is intended to be a factual statement
Gracias?
You're family and friends can stay too.
is intended to be a factual statement
ysbaddaden, ricky, myself, and a whole host of others on here. Might wanna rethink that.
Gracias.
But ysbaddaden was on the sauce this morning....maybe he should go!
(BBQ, that is)
Personally I prefer a nice honey glaze for some good sticky sex.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Isn't there a name for that?
I like Chinese food.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I like Thai food.
Too peanutty.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
"Rewarding North Korea"
like Jesus.
He was one o' them, too.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
It would have been nice if President Clinton had traded, given North Korea "Jeff Gannon" and maybe BillO the Clown in exchange for our legitimate journalist hostages.
Actually, it would have been really nice if Clinton had traded Limpballs, Hannity, and Beck.....all of them!
but even Kim Jong Il isn't crazy enough to take that crowd!
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
You're right about that.....and, they probably don't have a GITMO, so you certainly wouldn't want criminals like Limpballs, Hannity, and Beck living amonst the rest of the population in their high security prison camps.
Even the North Koreans would send Beck back. "Why is he writing on the walls with poopy?".
Please don't do that. I just shot Lone Star beer out of my nose. Thanks.
down the wrong pipe.
LMAO
"Painting with poop...."
The horror, the horror!
.. go fuck yourself. Bush would have let those women rot just to show his fucked up macho ego.
We'd attack every country with everyone else's children who didn't agree with with us. Thank you President Clinton for showing Republicans what ex-presidents do.
is intended to be a factual statement
Thank you President Clinton for showing Republicans what Democratic ex-presidents do.
FIFY
Thanks Cap'n. Sometimes I type so fast I forget stuff. Like I forgot to put asshole in front of Republicans.
is intended to be a factual statement
!
Took the words right out of my mouth.
NOBODY 2012
What would Bolton know? He couldn't diplomacy his way out of a paper bag.
Why else would he see bombing campaigns as the only form of 'negotiations' that works?
and he hides their rotting carcasses in his mustache.
To Helen Thomas and President Barak Obama.
The release of the two reporters are a GREAT b-day present!
(unless we celebrate his Kenyan, Austrailian, or Candadian birthday on a different day)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Remember when Limpdick gave Obama shit for killing those black pirates (Limpdick's description)?
After he called him a pussy for not having them freed in the first 30 minutes.
“It comes perilously close to negotiating with terrorists,” Bolton told AFP when asked about Bill Clinton’s trip to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
blah blah
Bolton is evil.
"Asses of Evil"?
I think I have that in my porn collection.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
why ANYONE listens to that asshole Bolton? Why do these discredited pieces of asslint get any air time at all? Nothing they said turned out to be the truth, everything they get involved with goes up in flames, way too many of their public figures end up entangled in smutty scandals...just what do they have to offer of value, again?
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
about anything but selling commercial time.
Time to re-regulate the airwaves. This shit has gotten out of hand. It was a stupid move to let news departments make money in the first place.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
Ew! Bwahaha....
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
I swear, this nation SO needs to pick these guys out of its crack.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
by the MIC are the only companies that didn't require a bailout?
Disney Radio and Television has reported lost money in the last quarter.
Hopefully, that'll mean Bubba will have to rescue hannah montana and the jonas brothers
And say, "No thanks, we get new replacements for them every week courtesy of American Idle."
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
All we need is for the Glenn Beck's of this country attacking Clinton and North Korea in the next couple of days for them to say fuck you, they're not leaving. Do they really think Clinton's apology is sincere(the conservatives)? They're determined to fuck this up and let those two woman rot in North Korea. It's a remote possibility, but if this happens, we need an all out revolution against these dickheads.
is intended to be a factual statement
Just saw on KO's show that they are on a plane with Clinton right now back to LA.
Beck et al are dickheads, though.
F*ck John Bolton with his own mustache. This is the trouble with the right wing (the so called right-to-lifers) they would rather these two women be killed to use a symbols then to be released so they can live their lives.
it's people like John Bolton that make me ashamed to be in the same country as this bozo (and all the other bozo's like him). What is wrong with America that so many of us are just glad to be ignorant?
Hey, Bolty, Wilford Brimley wants his mustache back, you black-hearted ass-apple.
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
Screw Bolton.
How in the hell is this "legitimizing" the North Koreans?
How in the hell does he know what was discussed? How in the hell does he know about any "deal" that was made?
I'm just so glad that we no longer have these neocon sacks like Bolton running our government.
Jerk.
Through Diplomacy it proved it's not necessary to shock and awe bomb everyone on earth who doesn't agree with you and won't let you steal their oil and build a McDonald's on every street corner.
And bankrupting your own country and people in the process.
Thus Bolton's dissapointment.
Thank you to all involved in freeing these young women from certain death.
When all is said and done, that is the most important thing.
Lest we forget amidst the admittedly good time of bashing a loser like Bolton that we need to keep the eye on the ball and this one was moon shot homerun.
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
relevant. LOL
Maybe Bill Clinton can negotiate the release of John Bolton from that mustache.
The mustache needs to be released from John Bolton. The mustache may be tired of smelling like Karl Rove's ass all the time.
"When are we going to stop trying to tell elected officials what to do. Our job is to spend the taxpayers' money the best way we can." -- Tommy Watkins, Justice of the Peace, Crawford County, Arkansas
You'd need a unilateral truce between the mustache and Bolton's upper lip.
is intended to be a factual statement
I guess because you never send a Chimp to to a Big Dog's job.
The neocons are simply lunatics , madmen and madwomen , psycho's , paranoid cowards and chronic lairs to boot . Oh thank you Ronald Reagan , Republican God , for turning these assholes loose on the country .
that's not Kim jong sitting next to Bill Clinton, that's Billy Crystal!
... the picture of Clinton and Kim I am surprised.
I remember in the talks leading up to the armistice in Korea and later the Vietnam talks how they sparred for days over seating arrangements how the Koreans/Vietnamese never wanted to appear lower than the American so they brought taller chairs for themselves.
But in this Clinto - Kim picture, Kim would have to sit in a high-chair.
If you need funds to pay for essentials, you have a revenue problem
If you need funds to pay for frivolity, you have a spending problem
bravo bill!
and to bolton, preach on, brother war criminal, preach on.
'palpbable recent failures'?
Who did John Bolton ever save?
Kim Jong Il is a small man who just wants to be flattered. Tickle his ego and he's anyone's.
Therefore, who better to send than that master flirt, Bill Clinton?
http://the-billablog.blogspot.com/
News is now reporting they have all safely left and are on their way to Los Angeles!!!!!!!!! Yeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
Way to go, Bill Clinton!
They impeached the wrong man.
NOBODY 2012
"...the perfect politician screwing whatever and whomever he wanted..."
Sounds like you're engaging in typical Wingnut Projection.
conservaturds will accuse Clinton of abusing pardons again.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
So I guess this means Bolton would support sending the journalists back to North Korea and withdrawing any consideration we made on their behalf?
We were better off with them over there?
That's the conservative position: take our people, you can have 'em?
Ahhh! Diplomacy, After eight years of Prince Chuckle-Nuts the tin pot dictator I almost forgot what that was.
OMG....I just saw Insannity suggest that Clinton went to N.Korea as a distraction to the "bad" news Obama is experiencing....his poll numbers, health care, etc.
Fortunately, Dana Perino said she "didn't think so," but I can't believe even Insannity would suggest something as assinine as this.
What a jackass.
Clinton do this sort of stuff when he was President? He had the same typical foreign policy as every other president....shoot first...he bombed and bombed and when he felt sexually frustrated apparently, he bombed some more. He never used diplomacy with Iraq. He never used diplomacy in the Balkans. He just sent bombs, same as all presidents do. Congratulations on finally turning into a decent politician finally. Now if you could just please quit hanging out with those Bush morons and calling them your friends!
Why does Bill Clinton hate America? :( :( :(
(sorry, but you KNOW this is what they will say)
I don't know why the Repubs are given any credibility on foreign policy at all. Since talk is a lot cheaper than war, and talking isn't agreeing, this whole thing about how we don't talk to adversaries make no sense to me.
Now, maybe we're at an impasse on the nuclear issue, but I don't see the harm of going over there and asking for the release of the hostages.
that man must have a really teeny, tiny, itsy, bitsy, unbelievably small.....mind.
First he stopped that 1999 millennium attack, and now this. And don't let anyone tell you Billy Boy was responsible for the first WTC attack, since the terrorists got in under Bush I's watch.
LOVE Bill Clinton!!!! although it took jesse to get the soldiers back from kosovo. How funny is that? jackson helps the army and 10 years later clinton helps journalists! you'd figure that would be backwards!lol
Late,
QSE32
This makes me happy. Bolton can go suck...whatever, just so long as he goes!
I wonder if Ralph Peters will opine that the North Koreans should have executed the two women.
that diplomacy, even with a "rogue" nation would work? I mean, who knew?
Bubba!
What is your conceptual, continuity?
I'm glad we got someone in to eyeball Kim Jong II to see if looks like he's dying. That could be helpful in shaping policy. For that reason alone, I'm glad Clinton met Kim Jong II, hostages, or no hostages.
Bolten is just another lunatic neocon in fact we should to do away with the term neocons and call them what they are , the lunatics . These paranoid coward Neanderthals are like snot nosed little kids , "I'll show them , I am not going to talk to them ! " . Real tough guys and girls just as long as it's not their asses that are on the line and in danger . Bolton oughta be wearing a tutu .
I prefer fascists.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
He wanted the two ladies to die.
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