Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Toto, I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore


Former President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea on Tuesday to seek the release of two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and he was successful. Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, however, criticized Clinton's trip saying that "the symbolism of a former president going to meet with Kim Jong Il I think is something that benefits Kim Jong Il a lot more than the United States, and it only encourages others to do the same thing."

Recently, three American tourists were arrested for straying into Iranian territory while hiking in northern Iraq which led Bolton to claim that Iran will surely follow the North Korean formula. "You can bet that in Tehran they watched this little performance in North Korea and are no doubt calculating how they might use it to their advantage," Bolton said.

My personal criticism is not with Clinton's visit, but with the fact that we had to expend this much diplomatic effort on two reckless journalists who should know better than to go snooping around anywhere close to that hellhole known as North Korea. And as far as those tourists who accidentally wandered off into Iran while hiking in Iraq? hiking in Iraq??? And one of them just happened to be a journalist. Go figure.

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