Bill Clinton brings home a pair of Asian chicks

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/world/asia/05korea.html?_r=2&hp

SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, pardoned two jailed American journalists, the official KCNA news agency has reported, according to Reuters. The report came after former President Bill Clinton met with the reclusive and ailing Mr. Kim in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

Mr. Kim granted “a special pardon,” KCNA said in a statement. It was not clear how rapidly the two journalists, Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, might be allowed to leave the country. They were being held near Pyongyang after having been sentenced to 12 years at hard labor for entering North Korea illegally.

The Ling and Lee families issued a joint statement on their Web site Tuesday afternoon in which they thanked the Obama administration, President Clinton and “all the people who have supported our families through this ordeal.” They added that they were “counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms.”

The pardon added to speculation among analysts in Seoul that North Korea, after months of raising tensions and hostile rhetoric towards Washington, may be ready to return to dialogue with Washington.
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Good news in a high profile incident.
 
:rofl:@the title, but seriously it's good news that the journalists received a pardon and should be coming home.
 
Figures. Just look at the guy - doesn't look like the "sit down and negotiate" type.

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Due to North Korea's information embargo, Kim Jong was still under the impression that Bill's still in office.
 
[quote name='JJSP']Due to North Korea's information embargo, Kim Jong was still under the impression that Bill's still in office.[/QUOTE]

Funny you say that, I was thinking along the same lines XD
 
Reuters has an article titled "Clinton success in Pyongyang has diplomatic risks" with the following points:

U.S. allies South Korea and Japan both have politically sensitive concerns about citizens held in North Korea. Beyond those issues is a fear that the example of Clinton's trip will weaken Obama's firm stance against rewarding North Korean bad behavior.

"South Korea and Japan remain exceedingly nervous that Obama will eventually abandon the U.S. policy of denuclearizing North Korea and accept a lower standard of merely preventing future nuclear proliferation," wrote Korea expert Bruce Klingner
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This indecent can't help but raise a lot of questions. You'd be a fool to believe this deal was not set in stone before he went there.

It's also interesting to me that almost nobody in the media has really questioned or found out exactly what those women were doing there or how they got there. It seems a moot point to most, for some reason. Indications are that they were there almost for martyr reasons.

Glad they are back though, and I never thought I'd say this but I sure miss Clinton.
 
just goes to show north korea just wants attention and legitimacy. kimmy probably let them go because he got bill to come ask for their release. i doubt he would have done the same if say, rahm emmanuel went.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']This indecent can't help but raise a lot of questions. You'd be a fool to believe this deal was not set in stone before he went there.

It's also interesting to me that almost nobody in the media has really questioned or found out exactly what those women were doing there or how they got there. It seems a moot point to most, for some reason. Indications are that they were there almost for martyr reasons.

Glad they are back though, and I never thought I'd say this but I sure miss Clinton.[/QUOTE]

I agree with all of your points, especially about Bill. He made some bad private choices, but as a politician he always seemed like he knew what he was doing.
 
So this doesn't undermine Obama that a former president can go over there and do this without being openly sanctioned or discouraged from doing so?
 
[quote name='QiG']So this doesn't undermine Obama that a former president can go over there and do this without being openly sanctioned or discouraged from doing so?[/QUOTE]

I'm afraid you don't understand how these things work. There is no way that Clinton went there unless Obama gave him the go-ahead.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']I'm afraid you don't understand how these things work. There is no way that Clinton went there unless Obama gave him the go-ahead.[/QUOTE]

My point exactly ;)
 
Of course Obama sent him over there. Who thinks otherwise?

Hypothetical question: If Bush asked Clinton to go over there (exact same situation mind you), would Clinton have gone?
 
of course, Bill thinks with himself first in mind more often than not and this puts him back on the stage so to speak
 
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