Breaking: Bush Administration to Ask Congress on Thursday to Remove North Korea from Terror Watch List
(Asst. Secretary of State for East Asia Christopher Hill)
Tuesday night, The Washington Note confirmed that the Bush administration will "ask Congress" to de-list North Korea from America's "terrorist watch list." This request will be made on Thursday -- if there are no last minute, unexpected interventions.
Rumors have been kicking around that this might be happening, but no administration officials would confirm until yesterday that this was finally decided.
During the day Tuesday, I spoke with officials from the State Department, the CIA, the Department of Defense, President Bush's staff, and the Office of the vice president -- and several sources from these departments confirmed that the administration was moving forward on formally asking Congress to remove North Korea from the controversial watch list -- which is seen as a key confidence building step by North Korea and China in moving towards North Korea's eventual return to the nuclear non-proliferation club.
Sources also tell TWN that while the Bush administration will take this step Thursday, Vice President Cheney's office was a dissenting voice in the administration's internal discussions.
While North Korea's behavior continues to be erratic and often troubling, the Bush administration's decision will be considered a major victory for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Deputy Secretary John Negroponte, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others -- but the real winner is Department of State Asst. Secretary for East Asia Affairs Christopher Hill -- who has been under almost constant assault from John Bolton and others opposed to deal-making with North Korea.
More on the implications later.
-- Steve Clemons is Senior Fellow and Director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation and publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note
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How much is this going to cost me? It smells like US money is heading their way big time.
Mr. Bush has a track record, going back to even before he went to prep school, of making the correct assumption about evey thing and every one. I'm sure NK is now a peaceful and loving nation, and will be a good neighbor to us all.
BUSH labeled North Korea a terrorist threat. Now he's pretending Congress is responsible. IMPEACH this liar.
When Obama speaks about opening a dialogue and talking to our enemies it is visionary. George Bush could come up with a cure for cancer tomorrow and this website would bemoan the fact that it puts a lot of health workers out of a job. I thought this is what the liberals wanted...b
I find this very strange. Knowing GWB, there's probably something in this for him that we don't
know about - - YET. North Korea worries me. Why take them off the list suddenly. hmmmmm.
This worries me. Maybe Bush gave this to Condi Rice's "reasonable" (HA) camp so that now Cheney can get his prize, an attack on Iran.
UNBELIEVAB
Can we get Nelson Mandela off of the terrorist watch list too?
As the Republicans so dearly claim, we "Never Negotiate with Terrorists or their supporters
Bush is an Appeaser!
Seriously- a nation that postures and poses against the US for decades is now not part of the "Axis of Evil".
Guess Jung Ill's check cleared through a Dubai bank.
The policy of granting concessions to potential enemies to maintain peace, is normally known as appeasement. Surely everyone knows, and knew that North Korea was or is not an enemy. They have always been outside of the axis of evil More to the point they should have been included in the list of potential allies, once we provide them with whatever it takes to keep the dictator in power. Now does that sound like appeasement, or just good old Bush policy.
Halliburton wants another contract with N. Korea, and Cheney wants his commission!
Hey they have nukes and often are as nuts as the crazies who run unstable governments and are called terrorists i the rest of the world so why not take them off the list? Who is next Columbia? The Sauds were the majority on 9/11 and yet we are "friends" with that government so I guess it's all inwho we should want to do business with and what they are called. What does North Korea have that bush wants?
Bush is looking towards his legacy. Iraq and Afghanistan have been questionable successes at the very best (and I'm being extremely generous here). Little or no progress has been made on the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. The best he can hope for is something that at least looks like a deal with North Korea.
Actually, I had this thought, too. He's hoping to leave some positive notion of his presidency in the history books.
Well well well......
IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY 08
By his own description: Bush = Neville Chamberlai
Right?
Hmmmm... from terrorists to not terrorists without ever sending troops...
I was under the notion things like that weren't possible in this new "post 9/11 world".
Weird... I wonder what they did... especially since bark collars are now required for all US Foreign Diplomats. Wouldn't want them to accidentally exchange words or anything..
What makes them qualified is that they actually have nuclear weapons. Name one other country that has nuclear weapons capability and is on the terrorist list? Not even Israel! If Iran had already gone nuclear, they would have been qualified to be removed from such list as well. What a pity. Sometimes it is does not pay to follow the rules!
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