Quiet Diplomacy versus Lack Of Diplomacy

The Washington Post reports that Libya's surprise declaration giving up its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons was the culmination of a week of intense negotiations that followed months of secret diplomacy, largely from London.

The highly delicate and highly successful negotiations recently included Tony Blair, Colin Powell and Jack Straw. There is no mention of Generallisimo El Busho, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or other hawkish neo-con imbeciles. And little wonder...

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Cheney's tough-talking has derailed months of quiet diplomacy between China, South Korea and North Korea. It seems Cheney steam-rolled the diplomatic efforts when he declared:

"I have been charged by the President with making sure that none of the tyrannies in the world are negotiated with. We don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it." "

Consider the use of the words "evil" and defeat". With the use of the word "evil" he is passing a God-like judgement on the North Koreans. With the word "defeat" he is implicitly threatening military action.

Similarly, George Bush is today reported to have told an Israeli journalist that "We must get rid of Arafat". So much for leaving your options open. Bush's latest gaffe comes at a time when elite Israeli military personnel are refusing to operate any longer in the "occupied territories". Now where the heck did I put that "Road Map" thingy...???