Rusted Sky

U.S.: NKorea to Declare Nuclear Programs

GENEVA (AP) - North Korea agreed Sunday to account for and disable its atomic programs by the end of the year, offering its first timeline for a process long sought by nuclear negotiators, the chief U.S. envoy said.

Kim Gye Gwan, head of the North Korean delegation, said separately his country's willingness to cooperate was clear—in return for "political and economic compensation"—but he mentioned no dates.

Well, I've lost stuff in my closet too. Guess I shouldn't be too critical, eh?

I wonder how this'll play in thirty-forty years? Bush screwed things up completely? Or he called the play right, and the play in Iraq, also?

I'm starting to think Bush's critics ought to be seen as contrarian indicators. So far, he's called it right on the economy, and in my opinion the war on Iraq. (Yeah, there's been mistakes. It's a war. Mistakes happen. Expensive ones. It sucks. That's war.) When they're bitching, he's doing the right thing. When they STOP bitching - we'll be in trouble.

Like it or not, he's had ideas and plans. Whether they're right or not - that's as may be and the historians can fight it out for the next century. He's had the courage to act on his beliefs - which got plenty of derision. After all, what's more important - a vision for the future and the courage to act on it, or following the poll numbers and changing direction based on those?

There's two different, general groupings I can see politically at this time. The first are the theorists. They know what they want for the future, and they've got all sorts of great theories about how they'll get the things accomplished ... once they're in power and have control of the situation. They love their theories. Shining, pefect, glossy theories that are unsoiled by human variables, just waiting to be implemented. Who just can't understand why people could possibly be against their proposals - after all, they're for the good of all - and if they need to be forcibly implemented - well, it for everyone's good so why gripe about it?

The second are the realists (which aren't to be confused with 'reality based' by any stretch of the imagination) who understand it's real damn hard to get anything done in a country of 300 million individuals, all with their OWN ideas about how the country should be run. Who will accept incremental progress, who know that you cannot herd cats, but you can lead them. Who will, unfortunately, let themselves be derailed by the theorists on some issues (like Social Security Reform) and have communication skills that are decidedly below par when it comes to actually communicating what they're trying to accomplish and their reasoning for it.

I'll take the side that can actually deal with reality, flawed and imperfect as it may be, that will attempt to overcome problems that crop up by coming up with realistic solutions than a side which will attempt to implement flawed or unworkable theories and descend into political paralysis when they don't work as expected.

J.