Letter: History shows treaties with North Korea fail

Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 | 8:02 a.m.

In Wednesday's Las Vegas Sun, both New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and letter writer John Huelbig place blame on President Bush for North Korea's nuclear developments. Apparently, endless negotiation would have prevented the progress that North Korea has made! Does history no longer matter?

How do you negotiate with someone who repeatedly violates the agreements before the ink is dry? It reminds me of the old question, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Without another hand, no sound; without a willing negotiation partner, no viable agreement! President Clinton was proud of his administration's Agreed Framework agreement mandating the eventual dismantling of North Korea's nuclear facilities, its cooperation with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the return of international inspectors.

We, the United States, would provide food (taken from the people for the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea's military), provide fuel oil while light-water nuclear reactors for electricity were built (construction abandoned), and a promise not to invade. From the signing, North Korea was in violation! Later, Pyongyang admitted to maintaining a clandestine nuclear development program although the Agreed Framework agreement was nominally still in effect. So now, we repeat history? Even a fool gets hit by a 2-by-4 just once.

Only a politician willing to place politics before country would spin this into a national issue during an election. Learn your history and act accordingly.

William F. Brennan, Las Vegas