By I’m sure under the table negotitions have been going on for quite some time to free the two US journalists, I wonder what the pay off will ultimately be to get them back?:
U.S.-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia reports the U.S. Congress has postponed its voting on the resolution calling on Pyongyang to release two U.S. journalists detained by the North for almost four months.
The report said the U.S. State Department requested Congress postpone the voting because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked Pyongyang for the women’s release and University of Georgia Professor Park Han-sik recently visited the communist state to discuss the issue on behalf of the department.
RFA speculated that the State Department believes there is no need to provoke Pyongyang with a Congressional resolution while Washington is negotiating under the table for the journalists’ release. [KBS Global]
It is the sad reality. No mistake...
11:14 am on July 18th, 2009 1
Ah ha, we've got them right where they want us.
4:56 pm on July 18th, 2009 2
Actually we should be ignoring it completely. Then the value of the hostages will be just about zero.
6:05 pm on July 19th, 2009 3
Hmmm…
As expected, Congress is actually spending valuable time making resolutions on this non-issue while jobs and houses are being lost and the economy totters on the brink of disaster…
…and diplomats are squandering precious political capital chasing their tails… as it will likely end up with America trading something worth far more than 2 ambitious but foolish reporters.
And, in an amazing case of doublethink…
"The U.S. government treats the release of the journalists as a separate issue from the North's nuclear provocations, but their release could lead to fresh nuclear talks."
What the hell does that mean? They are completely separate issues… except they aren't?
Tell North Korea they can keep and feed the reporters and no more will be spoken on the issue until the "nuclear talks" have resolved whatever issues are thought to be resolvable by talks, nuclear or otherwise.
Which reminds me… back in the day…
"William Stanton, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in South Korea and a candidate for the next director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), is said to have told the visitors during a briefing that the two young journalists were “stupid” and that their case was “distracting from bigger issues.”"
Honesty and insightfulness, it seems. Give the man a promotion.
6:34 pm on July 19th, 2009 4
Mr. Stanton's comments are just about right.
Those two journalists knew the risks (or at least, should have). There are many more lives at stake and it's not worth pulling off a "Helen of Troy" over them.