Giving them a reactor? Why didn’t I think of that?

A former U.S. diplomat who was deeply involved in North Korea policy said the Bush administration's approach toward the isolated communist state has been a failure that left Pyongyang to pursue its nuclear and missile programs.

The headline only makes sense when you realize that Straub was part of Clinton’s failed policy on North Korea which envisioned giving them a reactor in exchange for them saying out loud that they’d play nice – which they didn’t. It is, incidentally, the same thing the EU3 tried to do with Iran – offer them “sweets and nuts”.

One fundamental failure of Bush's approach was the tendency to raise tensions and make South Korea nervous by stating that "all options" were the table, a phrase underscoring U.S. intentions to use force against North Korea if necessary, he said.

It needs to be noted that Straub was not deeply involved in anything that succeeded.

The fuse is lit!