Talking with the Enemy

Via Kevin Drum, here's Donald Gregg, National Security Advisor to Vice President George H.W. Bush and U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993, on why talking to our enemies doesn't always equal appeasement:

Why won't the Bush administration talk bilaterally and substantively with NK, as the Brits (and eventually the US) did with Libya? Because the Bush administration sees diplomacy as something to be engaged in with another country as a reward for that country's good behavior. They seem not to see diplomacy as a tool to be used with antagonistic countries or parties, that might bring about an improvement in the behaviour of such entities, and a resolution to the issues that trouble us. Thus we do not talk to Iran, Syria, Hizballah or North Korea. We only talk to our friends -- a huge mistake.

Is anyone in the Bush administration listening?

Posted by Kingston