"Free At last! Free At last! Thank God Almighty, (They) Are Free At Last!"

The two American journalists have been pardoned after an unprecedented meeting between former President Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

From what we can see of these quiet negotiations, this was diplomacy at its best, orchestrated by President Obama and the "Ambassador to the World," aka former President Bill Clinton. We will never know what really went on behind the curtain, but what we can be sure of is that everything possible was done to obtain the release of these two young women that worked for Current TV.

Freeing Laura Ling and Euna Lee was not trivial. And in the words of Martin Luther King, they are free at last!

Citizen journalists beware. Watch where you step! Don't stumble over a border as three citizen activists, and sometime journalists, did over the weekend. Diplomatic relations are stretched thin with Iran at this moment after the riots in the streets. And now we have another conundrum with three American citizens in guest quarters of the Iranian government. Maybe let's keep a lower profile for awhile. Don't hike over borders of hostile governments for the next year or two. Give President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the time to rebuild American relations around the world and recover from the Bush years.

Frankly, at this moment in time, the release of these two young women is a modern miracle.

Comments

[tinman1967]

How do these people just accidently find themselves in enemy territory? I mean if I were a journalist on a trip anywhere within 500 miles of North Korea I would make damn sure exactly where I was.
What gives?
Were they CIA or just very, very dumb??????

[kushibo]

Back in March, I was fairly certain that they had deliberately entered North Korea, perhaps for a journalistic scoop (videotape of themselves crossing into and out of North Korea). It was not an accident, no more than crossing the Rio Grande south of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez would be an accident, and that may come out in the future.

http://kushibo.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-misanthropic-views-on-laura-ling-and.html

[GetAGrip007]

Our prayers are answered. Thank you God.

[michellekraus]

YES

[kushibo]

Given Bill Clinton's stature and Kim Jong-il's desire for legitimacy on the world stage and his craving to show his people how the rest of the world fears and respects the DPRK, it is entirely possible that the visit and the apology that came with it were sufficient to get their release.

But if concessions were made, on top of the fact that these two women and their colleague Mitch Koss have gravely endangered the lives of North Korean refugees who had used that part of the border to escape, it is all the more reason Lee and Ling should not be hailed as heroes.

[michellekraus]

The heroes here are Bill Clinton and Obama, not Lee and Ling. It is because of the work done in Clinton's administration to open dialogues with this and other adversarial nations that today's events were even feasible. Thank goodness that our now President Obama was wise enough to bring this talent available to the table. We now have leadership that is not driven by fear, shame or ego. "Free at last."

[kushibo]

Michelle, despite my disdain for what Lee, Ling, and Koss did to put the lives of would-be escapees from North Korea at risk, I do agree with you that Obama and Clinton may have pulled from this situation a golden opportunity.

http://kushibo.blogspot.com/2009/08/clinton-arrives-in-pyongyang-threatens.html

(toward the bottom; the top part is not quite so glowing)

[Aslanspal]

Are they on the plane??