Two US journalists freed from Korean gulag - The Independent »
Posted By gamahuche 4 months, 1 week ago in Political NewsBill Clinton's surprise mission to Pyongyang secures release of women sentenced to hard labour – and raises hopes of nuclear deal
It was one of the best kept secrets in the annals of international diplomacy: clandestine, triumphant and potentially momentous.
The former US president Bill Clinton yesterday travelled to North Korea, the most insular nation on Earth, on a surprise mission to seek the release of two US journalists who were imprisoned in March for straying into North Korea while on assignment in China.
Within hours of a face-to-face meeting with its ruler Kim Jong-il, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, sentenced in June to 12 years hard labour for engaging in "hostile acts", had been granted a special pardon.
Read Full Story at independent.co.uk »
524 Views Share Story 24 Comments Report
Submitted By:
gamahuche
"I would rather be a square peg than fit in a pigeon hole" -
an essay which won me the "Lamb Essay Prize" at the Religious ...
Who Also Submitted: All »
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 24 (view all)
-
100%
gamahuche4 months, 1 week ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
So does Bill Clinton come in the same package as Hillary Clinton - a 2-for-1 deal?
Reply
And is this just a one-of success with N. Korea or part of a seismic change?
Next stop for Bill could be Burma [Myanmar] and the freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi? [well that's my favourite cause but there's plenty more work to be done all over the world].. -
100%
AnteUp4 months, 1 week ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I was thrilled yesterday afternoon when the headline of their
Reply
pardon popped up on Netscape - I just couldn't wait for them to get on a plane and get out!
This was great news.......so glad you posted the story, gama.
fta:
An unanswered question remained why, if she has been fretting recently about her fading profile, she had apparently sub-contracted a mission of such scale to her husband.
I don't see it quite like that. I don't think as Secy. of State
that Hillary could go to such an overtly insulting nation to
ask a favor. The role that former President Clinton played was
perfect for our purposes. First of all he was willing to do it,
secondly, that Clinton's persona is famous enough to stroke the little man in North Korea's ego, and thirdly that Bill Clinton is removed from our current administration - he holds no official post. Former Vice President Gore would have been
a fine choice too - from my perspective - but the offer was
rejected by North Korea.
Whether this takes us all the way to nuclear discussions is
anyone's guess. The great leader didn't look terribly fit -
so their power structure could change at any time. -
25%
RTHTGakaRoland4 months, 1 week ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Good work indeed by Bill Clinton, and less directly Hillary Clinton as well. They certainly saved the Lings years of misery and perhaps their very lives.
Reply
Sorry for maybe putting my friends on the Right in shock by applauding the Clintons even these few times, but I remember Lisa Ling as a cub TV reporter in a couple towns in which I did airshows. She covered a couple of them for her station, and it is good to know that she (they) is safe.
I concede also that both Clintons have been proven correct on their key contention during Hillary's campaign that obama would be an inept neophyte in Foreign Affairs and Defense matters. Ironically, but thankfully for the Lings, the savvy Clintons are acting as "training wheels". I suspect that had not these young American women's lives been hanging in the balance that ol'Bill's response to the "3AM call" from Barry might have been an "I told you so" and a big chuckle over his best cigar.-
100%
german-shepard4 months, 1 week ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I am sorry, but your initial, well placed inference about the good work done was more than negated by the final paragraph. As you do not know what transpired, but rather allowed your prejudices and hates to interfere with your reasoning, I had to neg you.
Reply -
-
-
-
-
-
100%
Newperson4 months, 1 week ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I was very happy to hear this. Now where do we go from here. There is alot more work that does need to be done. There are alot more causes out there. Lets see where this goes.
Reply
Funny I did not see anyone else ready to put there self in harms way to help.
Good story Thanks G. -
-
-
-
-
theorangetrailblazerComment removed: Hard Banned
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.