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Korean News Service is reporting that two American journalists held in N.Korea have been pardoned by Kim Jong Il. They are to be freed during Bill Clinton’s visit.
The BBC confirms:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has issued a special pardon to two detained US journalists, the country’s state news agency reports.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee had been found guilty of entering the country illegally in March.
The pair, arrested by North Korean guards, were sentenced to hard labour.
The news comes on the day that former US President Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to Pyongyang on what was described as a private mission.
Which makes me want to add, heh.
70 Comments
Please, doG, let this be true.
Thanks for keeping an eye on this, twolf1
FunnyWheelieDiva
I just heard this announcement on NPR – I was hoping to be the first to announce it here. Oh well, I should’ve known better.
Skimmed the Bolton piece — pretty predictable. Success won’t change his opinion. Bolton simply neeeds to be ignored himself. Although Jon Stewart did a good job showing what a loon he is about foreign policy.
Anyway, hurray for “talking with one’s enemy.” How else are you gonna get anything done?
I am glad President Clinton is doing a great job and making progress, but they have not been freed yet. I am not going to celebrate until they are on the President’s plane, over international waters. North Korea being North Korea, this very well could change from minute to minute. Let’s keep them all in our prayers and hope they get home soon.
I’m happy for the Americans’ release. I just wonder what we had to pay in extortion fee. Kim Jong Il never does anything for free, especially when he called Bill Clinton’s wife a “whimpering girl” and a “peasant woman going to a shopping mall”.
So what will the lunatic fringe come up with to criticize and discredit this breakthrough? Oh yeah, Clinton got a blow job. I almost forgot. My bad.
Nukelar bombs.
Bingo.
diplomacy, always better then war, unless of course you are a neo-con and bolton is of course a neo-con
they want war and anything that impedes their march toward more war is bad…this is your life john bolton
NukelarNuke-yuh-lur bombs.Fixed it for ya.
How will the limp one, El Rushbo, attack this?
How dare Obama let Bill Clinton talk to an Enemy of Democracy without preconditions! It’s un-American!
Oh wait, no. It’s diplomacy. Suck it, republicans.
And just think last week, Clinton was complaining to Tina Brown that President Obama only called him every couple weeks making what Clinton characterized as a check the box phone calls.
Glad for the release and safety of our fellow Americans. Wonder who did the work on this one.
I am relieved for their families.
nice Bolton bitchslap twolf !
This is great! Maybe if he stays there a lil longer he can get them to stop their nuclear program.
my first thoughts as well.
That may well have been part of the cover for this trip. You can’t believe everything a politician tells you.
Oh, also, doesnt this just step all over his wife’s job and resposibilities?
Can we now say that Obama has a handle on foreign policy, at least some of the time? Pirates and now this – good track record, no? Now on to Afghanistan…
the official Chinese press headline from a few hours ago were hilarious (roughly translated): “Former US President Clinton in DPRK to Recover Detained Journalists” If the DPRK wanted to get some mileage out of this internationally, on the nukes issue, their efforts are failing miserably.
The Republics and their media enablers will never say that.
it’s funny puppethead but the republicans don’t even understand this simple fact;
you can’t have “pre-conditions” without entering talks in the first place, it’s a tail wagging the dog thing but that’s what they do best
the WSJ headline this morning was “Bill Clinton’s Misguided Trip to North Korea”… basically, Murdoch News said that its Billy’s patriotic duty to let the two women die for the glory of the (American) fatherland.
And he’s always been so considerate in the past.
what did the Mrs. call Obama? Naive and Dangerous.
yeah.
That was it.
Maybe Bill shoulda been Sec. of State.
just sayin……………….
oh.
and can we pleeze send him to Israel now?
those were the first words out of Mr. siri’s mouth too.
and he’s rarely wrong about anything political.
Spencer has a great take on it…
Bill Clinton Personally Reduces North Korea to Smoldering, Rubble-Strewn Wasteland
I would think she’s the one that told obama to do it, that’s one of her jobs, deciding who can accomplish what needs to be accomplished
I say well done to hillary as much as bill and of course to obama for the forsight to see bill might “pull it off” (pardon that expression, didn’t mean it, really, I didn’t)
No, I don’t think it does.
Iran might be able to use him too. They nabbed three American trekkers yesterday, I think.
Which makes me want to add, heh.
I wonder in how many ways I can possibly say “Fuck John Bolton”?
and now, on MSNBC, Barry McCaffrey (Paid, RNC), is now painting this as a defeat for the U.S.
gawd, my “fuck you” list is getting long….
You would describe that country as something other than a smoldering, rubber-strewn wasteland, as it is, without Clinton’s help?
President Obama facilitated the rescue of journalists.
They got the Danny Pearle treatment on Bush’s watch. Not to mention a tank round into their hotels in Baghdad too.
-G
Compare Bill Clinton’s diplomatic mission with the way George W. Bush, super manly man, handled the downed EP-3 in China and how Bush let the Chinese dismantle the plane for secrets. Now that was some awesome diplomacy.
OT: But too funny. Steny Foyer got teabagged today, and not the good kind. Heh.
the link elliot posts is a snark post, have a read it’s really good
very good point!
Wouldn’t this be the job of a Secretary of State? Bill gotta upstage his wife some more? I missed why Bill was chosen.
I think the El Rushbo/Republic spin will be that N. Korea would never have dared to hold the journalists with Republics in charge. Republics like Bush and Cheney are, after all, such manly men.
that was pretty surreal. Even funnier that the 2003 article you linked to has another link below it to an article with the following headliner: “Homeland Security sputters into reality”
The smart money is betting there’s some sort of quid pro quo going on somewhere. Maybe kim jong il gets a night with a bona fide Hollywood starlet? He’s all into that whole movie thing…
“the WSJ headline this morning was “Bill Clinton’s Misguided Trip to North Korea”…”
If the story turns out to be true, then suck it WSJ. And hey Rupert? You can go ahead and have your fill, too.
“You can’t believe everything a politician tells you.”
Wait. You can’t? Are you sure?
Oxycontin, maybe?
The US does not have diplomatic relations with N. Korea. A third party is required. It’s not upstaging.
OT2: Former Blackwater employees testify in federal court that Founder Erik Prince, either personally murdered or facilitated the murder of Blackwater whistleblowers, and he considers himself a Christian soldier tasked with eradicating Muslims.
While we suspected this anyway, it would be nice to have it proven in court and this murderer, with millions of our tax dollars, behind bars forever. Jeremy Schaill’s on it of course:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill
Thanks. Simply didn’t understand.
I can’t understand how anyone can put a neg spin on getting the two women returned.
uuummmm, cause he could get the job done?????
You probably ought to get an auxiliary hard drive. You’ll blow through 100 gigs in no time.
maybe the Chinese agreed to lay off on a sanctions crackdown they started carrying out a few days ago (not reported in the English language press as far as I can tell). Basically, they rather abruptly ordered a bunch a Chinese mining and manufacturing concerns out of the DPRK, effectively cutting off commercial ties. The only English article I could on the closures was this one:
http://www.google.com/hostedne…..QD99OLBO00
Just wait for Limpy Limbaugh tomorrow.
Ah now that makes sense. Im just glad it worked and those two journalists get to go back home.
If anyone can do it, the repugs can. And it won’t take long, either.
unfortunately the iranians got three Americans yesterday ….
That’s a pretty good incentive, alright.
While this is good news, there are many, many cases of Bill not getting the job done diplomatically, so it was hardly a “sure thing.”
Certainly, he wasn’t just over there as a free agent, and was taking cues from the White House, right?
Whatever happened to the young soldier that was recently captured.
You know,the one that allegedly had gone AWOL?
Haven’t heard a peep about that ,of late.
Not likely. Gore wanted to go. But the real point is not the Clintons. One would assume a done deal before the trip was made. Point is that job got done.
I’ll feel a lot better when these two women are out of North Korean airspace and heading for home. I’m not seeing any indication as to when they might be released. Let’s hope it’s sooner than soon.
everybody wins. The Chinese make a few threats they never intend to carry out. Bill Clinton goes to North Korea while they’re feeling nervous and vulnerable, and brings back the two Americans. The Chinese withdraw their threats. Everything goes back to the normal level of general all-around hostility with the DPRK. For all we know, they could’ve orchestrated something like this when Chinese and American leaders met last week for their summit.
Thank God for this. I have been so worried about these young women.
It’s strange that John Bush didn’t volunteer. They are all amazingly brave and skilled in that family.
i’ve been off reading. quite amazing. a hearing is scheduled for august 7.
hey you beat huff post on this one
good job
good for them hope they decide to stay away now
if not well
didn’t take long at all
amazing aren’t they
i think jayt described it perfectly eloquently earlier. he said something like “fuck bolton”
yep. basic rethug doctrine: except for members of the elite, it is all of our patriotic duty to die for the greater glory of the fatherland
Perhaps mister Bolton could take their places in prison.
Laura Ling is a local gal here in Sacramento and people will be over the moon here with this news. Kudos to Clinton, and Al Gore, who played an important role as well.
http://www.lauraandeuna.com/
Once again the Repugs (via WSJ, Bolton and Limbaugh) show what unsympathetic buttheads they are. Plus they don’t know how to pick their bOnce again the Repugs (via Bolton and Limbaugh) show what unsympathetic buttheads they are. Plus they don’t seem to know how to pick their battles…
These two gals will be all over the news for weeks giving interviews to everyone from Oprah to Couric…heck they’ll probably even be on the Phlembaugh’s old KFBK…which should really make the old Jabba quiver with bile.
Take a look at these pictures…rip your heart outhttp://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5735XL20090805
Wonder what the families looked like when their family members were set free from our torture chambers at Abu Gharib. If only U.s. photographers would take pictures of people we have kept in prisons set free