Quotes of the Morning: Diplomacy

“North Korea said Sunday night that it had set off its first nuclear test, becoming the eighth country in history, and arguably the most unstable and most dangerous, to proclaim that it has joined the club of nuclear weapons states.
The test came just two days after the country was warned by the United Nations Security Council that the action could lead to severe consequences.
American officials cautioned that they had not yet received any confirmation that the test had occurred. The United States Geological Survey said it had detected a tremor of 4.2 magnitude on the Korean Peninsula.”
-New York Times, October 9, 2006

“Ok.. That is kind of bad news. A member of the ‘Axis of Evil’ has just turned into a nuclear power. Apparently we will be going to war soon, as obviously we cannot allow terrorist sympathizing nations to have nuclear weapons. Heck, we went to war with Iraq over that kind of thing. Remember this?”
-Skippy

"The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
-Condoleezza Rice, September 8, 2002

“Or this?”
-Skippy

“Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem.
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, October 8, 2002

“Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group his ‘nuclear mujahedeen,’ his nuclear holy warriors.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, October 8, 2002

“But this is North Korea, not Iraq, so the standards are a little bit different..”
-Skippy

“The United States said Wednesday that the discovery of a North Korean freighter loaded with 15 Scud-type missiles was ‘expected’ and unlikely to affect its policy on the reclusive communist state.”
-NBC News, December 11, 2002

“They [North Korea] continue to be the single largest proliferator of ballistic missile technology on the face of the earth, and they are putting into the hands of many countries the technologies and capabilities which have the potential for killing hundreds of thousands of people.”
-Donald Rumsfeld, December 11, 2002

“I don’t think there’s any change [in U.S. policy].”
-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, December 11, 2002

“No change? Odd.. It is like they don’t want to go after a member of the Axis of Evil. It is kind of like they want to use.. diplomacy.. to solve problems.”
-Skippy

“Once we get beyond nuclear weapons, there may be opportunities with the U.S., with private investors, with other countries to help North Korea in the energy area.”
-Assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Kelly, January 13, 2002

“Well congratulations Dubya. Now North Korea, with an unstable American-hating dictator, has nuclear weapons. Well done on that ‘national security’ thing. I guess that this is why Dubya and Co. don’t trust that whole ‘diplomacy’ thing. They don’t know how to use it.”
-Skippy