Why The Deal Will Work This Time

Many people are criticizing the new deal between the US and North Korea saying that the fuel that will be given to north Korea will just be used to reactivate the Yongbyan Reactor. But this time they're wrong. Why? Because the US had the upper hand in negotiations. We had a weapon. It's called freezing assets. The other two times that an agreement was reached with North Korea, the US didn't have much of an upper hand. We were the scared ones; North Korea had nothing to lose. But this time we froze Kim Jong-il's assets that are used to buy many luxury items. We also put an embargo on luxury goods that were being sent to north Korea. Kim Jong-il couldn't buy his scotch anymore; nor could he buy his movies or boats or luxury cars. That was the last straw. It was either live without these luxury items or give into the US' demands. Kimmy boy chose the second option.

Now North Korea can get its energy and Kim Jong-il's luxuries while the US and the rest of NE Asia can live without the fear of North Korea having the Bomb. In this situation, everybody wins. And who knows, maybe Bush's popularity will rise above 40% for the first time in a while. And hell, maybe the troop surge will work. The next question is whether or not neo-Stalinism is dead after this agreement.