An agreement has been reached in the six party talks with
North Korea. It still is lying short of a non-proliferation agreement but is
considered a major stepping stone in progress.

North Korea says they will abandon their weapons program
but maintains the right to nuclear energy.

The part that is not leaving me wondering is what cost this
has to us. North Korea was demanding concessions in the form of economic and
others. No mention in any articles if those concessions have been met or what
they will cost our already financially strapped nation.

This milestone will hopefully send a message to Washington
that talks can work and should be totally exhausted before a referral to the
Security Council. Hopefully it will make them rethink actions on Iran.

While some are considering this a triumph for George Bush,
it should be more so looked at as damage control. It was George Bush’s “axis of
evil” speech that got us into this mess, when he clumped Iraq, Iran and North
Korea into one group as terrorists. Now we got to see how much those words
actually cost the citizens of this country.