CNN has reported that North Korean President, Kim Jong-il has vowed to not
return to the nuclear bargaining table unless Vice President Cheney issues an
apology for comments he made on
Larry King
Monday night.

When asked if he was worried about the situation in North Korea, Vice
President Cheney had this to say about Kim Jong-Il

I am concerned about it, partly because Kim Jong Il, who’s the leader of
North Korea, is — I would describe as one of the world’s more irresponsible
leaders

This comment did nothing but place another steep obstacle on the road to
diplomacy.

This don’t stop here though. The very next morning after these comments were
made, it was time for our President to speak. During a
press conference held in
the rose garden, President Bush was asked about the situation with North Korea
and he replied with:

we want diplomacy to be given a chance to work

I would like to offer a free dictionary to the White House, and I encourage
both the President and Vice President to look up key words before using them.
For example, Webster’s defines diplomacy as:

1.
Negotiation between nations.

2.
Subtly skillful handling of a situation.

3.
Wisdom in the management of public affairs.

While the President is saying he wants to use diplomacy, the Vice President
is contradicting it by making statements such as he did. In other words there
was nothing subtle about calling Kim Jong-Il irresponsible. All he has done is
increase the odds of diplomacy failing in the situation.

This act not only brings shame to the United States, but the other 4 nations
that are involved in the discussions with North Korea. They have as much, if not
more at stake, if North Korea becomes a nuclear power, mainly due to the fact
they are geographically closer to North Korea and could be an easier target of a
nuclear strike.

Listening to these discussions regarding North Korea is like a flashback to
early 2003. We are saying one thing but doing another. Now I agree North Korea
should not have nuclear weapons (no one should), and Kim Jong-Il is not an ideal
leader, but in a time where our military forces are spread thin, and the number
of members are decreasing, diplomacy is not an option, it is the answer. We can
not hurt any chances of solving this situation diplomatically, but the
Whitehouse once again seems to disagree.