While none of the facts in the summary you posted are untrue, many of the editorial comments are leaps of logic, and unsubstantiated by the facts.

There are a million details and little wrinkles in the long saga of DPRK's attempts to become a nuclear power, and many of the exact details are not public knowledge. But it basically boils down to the following: (courtesy of Josh Marshall):

Quote:

1994-2002 -- Era of Clinton 'Agreed Framework': No plutonium production. All existing plutonium under international inspection. No bomb.

2002-2006 -- Bush Policy Era: Active plutonium production. No international inspections of plutonium stocks. Nuclear warhead detonated.

Talk all you want about DPRK's enriched uranium program and how it violated the original agreement, but Clinton's policies and bilateral agreement led to DPRK being forced to cheat, using the back door to acquire nuclear weapons. Bush's policy of heated rhetoric with no bilateral negotiations and no weapons inspections has led to the reactivation of the plutonium program in addition to the uranium program, leaving both the front doors and back doors wide open for business.

Calling this "blaming ourselves" is such a farce. The blame does, in fact, lie at the feet of the elected leaders who didn't do their jobs, and in this matter, the Bush administration's failure to negotiate bilaterally led to the collapse of the existing agreement, under which weapons inspections gave us at least partial visibility into and control over DPRK's weapons programs. DPRK then reactivated the plutonium program, and now they have bombs.

Is DPRK the aggressor? Of course. Is Kim Jong Il a liar? Without question. Is Bush to blame for abandoning the existing framework and replacing it with empty rhetoric? Absolutely.

I don't know about you, but I believe our elected leaders need to be held accountable for when they fail to protect their citizens.