Quote:
Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
I see your point, but there's risks to not engaging Kim as well, especially now that we've got (some) momentum on nonproliferation after busting A.Q. Khan and sending him off to a well-earned vacation at the Pakistani government resort of his choice.
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Khan was pardoned. Fair enough, since it is pretty apparent he didn't do anything other than cover Musharaf's ass anyway.
But, whether we are engaging NK or not, China will be, and it is, frankly, China that can (and needs to) apply serious pressure there - the US's most useful role is to keep saying "we're not buying the same shit in a new pot, thanks" so the local actors who have some real levers to pull can do so but blame the US for the hard line. On the other hand, giving China the space to flex muscle on its own (without public talks with the US hanging around) may also be a good move since they may feel freer to be forceful if they may then be able to take credit on their own instead of being seen as a tool in a US-led effort. China wants desperately to be perceived as a responsible and serious international citizen to be reckoned with, and they've pretty clearly gotten the message that this is their big chance to show they can play with the big boys and get results.
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