Double Talk Express: Presidential Ambitions Cloud John McCain's Memory Again

While criticizing former President Clinton's handling of North Korea today, Senator John McCain seemed to forget that under President George Bush's watch, North Korea has increased their nuclear capabilities by 400% and tested a nuclear weapon. Under Clinton's watch, there were no tests and no new plutonium. McCain seems to be confused about his own position on North Korea, since he has criticized every potential option for addressing the situation so far.

"Senator McCain is once again putting his political aspirations ahead of telling the truth. The facts speak for themselves, President Bush's failures have allowed North Korea to increase their nuclear capabilities by 400% and test a nuclear weapon," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "Under President Clinton there was no new plutonium, no new nuclear weapons and no nuclear test in North Korea. The fact is that we are less safe at home and around the world due to President Bush's foreign policy blunders and not even a baseless attack from John McCain can change that fact."

John McCain has ruled out the possibility of negotiations with North Korea, criticized the results of the bilateral negotiations held during the Clinton administration and criticized the multi-lateral talks supported by the current Administration. He both supports and opposes incentives for North Korea. Unfortunately, McCain has been all over the map on how to deal with North Korea and criticized every potential option for addressing the situation so far.

MCCAIN THOUGHT FOCUS ON IRAQ HURT NORTH KOREAN POLICY

McCain Criticized Bush For Prioritizing Iraq And Losing Focus On North Korea. Asked how Bush was handling the North Korea situation, McCain said, "I think [the Bush administration is] doing pretty well. I think that the Iraq situation may have given it [North Korea] less importance than maybe it deserved. I think the key to it clearly is China but also Russia and Japan and South Korea. But China has enormous influence. The reason why they had these talks were because the Chinese basically told them that they had better. China has their hand around the throat of the North Korean economy. There's no doubt about that." [NPR, 8/29/03]

MCCAIN OPPOSES AND SUPPORTS INCENTIVES FOR NORTH KOREA

NO INCENTIVES: McCain Called Kim Jong Il A "Sociopath" Who Governed Over An "Orwellian" Nation Who Couldn't Be Rewarded With "Leverage." McCain suggested that the U.S. "go after [Kim Jong Il's] estimated $4 billion that he has around the world. We could go after him directly." McCain added, "But we are facing a nation that is Orwellian and--and most oppressive nation in the world, which we've been propping up indirectly by our hundreds of millions of dollars of oil and food support. By the way, that is in direct contradiction of what the United States is supposed to be all about." McCain said that any rewards for North Korea would only empower other nations to follow the same path, saying, "if you allow the North Koreans to gain some sort of leverage or agreement that would be beneficial to them, that will be a lesson to all other nations--do the same thing. So there's a great deal at--at stake here. We have to address it directly." [CBS News, 1/5/03]

NO INCENTIVES: McCain Slammed Bush For Lacking A "Coherent Message" On North Korea And Wanted To Reimpose Sanctions And Cut All Aid. McCain and other lawmakers "pushed the Bush administration to take a tougher line on North Korea, calling for a cut in all aid to Pyongyang, including food. Slamming President George W. Bush's stance toward North Korea as lacking 'a coherent message,' Republican John McCain joined with Democrat Evan Bayh and other Republicans to introduce legislation." " The bill introduced, the North Korea Democracy Act of 2003, sought to prohibit U.S. assistance to North Korea and authorized the president to impose full economic sanctions. The bill also prohibited nuclear cooperation without full access by inspectors. [Agence France Presse, 1/15/03, S.145, introduced and referred to committee 1/13/03]

INCENTIVES: McCain Called For Incentives To Get North Korea To Disarm. McCain believed it was necessary to entice North Korea to disarm, saying, "I think that the leader, and I don't know if he's crazy or not, he's smart enough to stay in power and have a large place in the world's attention. But I think it's very obvious that he would have all the relevance of a very small country with very little GNP, if they didn't have this missile and nuclear card, to play all the time. We've got to find incentives... We've got to find incentives, particularly through the Chinese, to make them stop this." [MSNBC, 6/21/06]

MCCAIN OPPOSES ALL NEGOTIATIONS WITH NORTH KOREA

MCCAIN SAYS NO TO BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS: McCain Said Clinton's Bilateral Negotiation With North Korea Was Responsible For Allowing Them To Develop Nuclear Arms. McCain blamed Clinton's policy for creating the existing crisis with North Korea. McCain said, "the negotiations that took place in 1994, which many of us opposed, resulted in North Korea being vastly more dangerous and a greater threat than they were then." McCain noted that North Korea went back on their word from the 1994 agreement, saying,"resulting from an agreement we never should have made back in 1994 when we agreed to give them, over time, over $1 billion in aid while they promised not to develop these weapons. And clearly they have done something." [NBC News, 1/7/03; NPR, 8/29/03]

MCCAIN SAYS NO TO MULTI-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS: McCain Criticized The Fuss Over Multi Party Talks With North Korea. McCain said, "We've had the, quote, 'six-party talks.' [The North Koreans] want two-party talks and some people talk about four party. It -- look, what it's all about, Norah, is whether people want to sit down and seriously negotiate. That's like the shape of the table in the Paris peace talks during the Vietnam War." McCain reiterated his problem with talks, saying, "I don't know why we should reward bad behavior by making concessions. It's not whether it's six party, four party, two party, whatever. That's not the problem . The problem is will the North Koreans comply with the commitments that they made in the past?" [MSNBC, 6/21/06; CBS News, 7/9/06]

MCCAIN SAYS NO TO NEGOTIATIONS, PERIOD: McCain Called A Nuclear Armed North Korea "Unacceptable," Ruled Out Negotiations. McCain said, "[F]irst of all, I think you make it very clear that--that it's unacceptable [for North Korea to develop nuclear weapons]. Two, we will not negotiate. Three, the Chinese, in particular, but also the Russians, the South Koreans and the Japanese, can play a very key role; the Chinese, in particular, who have been less than helpful so far." [CBS News, 1/5/03]

IS THIS LEADERSHIP? WAITING FOR CHINA: McCain Was Critical That The U.S. Hadn't Succeeded In Getting China To Pressure North Korea. McCain said, "It's obvious that we need to put more pressure on the North Koreans and the people that can do that best are the Chinese. The Chinese are the ones that have the leverage over North Korea and it's not in China's interests to see this continue because it would only lead to a nuclear armed Japan and greater tensions in the region." McCain criticized the administration for failing to emphasize North Korea in negotiations with China, saying, "Depending on what we find out about what North Korea is doing and what its intentions are, we have to ratchet up the importance of the issue in our relationship [with China]. We don't have a great deal of leverage over China. Obviously, their exports to our markets are a vital part of their economic engine but at the same time if you start down this path of retaliation, it sometimes lurches out of control. I again go back to the fundamental [point] that is it is in China's national interest to avoid a confrontation and escalation of tensions in the region. In particular, to reignite any hostility between China and Japan." McCain emphasized again the importance of China's leverage against North Korea, saying, "China is the key," and reasoned that "unless that leverage is exercised, I'm not sure that this rogue state is going to behave in any civilized or normal fashion." [MSNBC, 6/21/06; Financial Times, 6/19/06; CBS News, 7/7/06]

IS THIS LEADERSHIP? CALLING CHINA NAMES: McCain Threatened China And Called China Vacillating, Immature, And Naïve. McCain pressed China's responsibility towards standing up to North Korea, but at the same time belittled their leadership, saying "If [China] continue[s] to vacillate as they have all last week in the United Nations, then there are consequences in our relationship." McCain also said China was not acting appropriate to their status on the world stage, adding, "If we make it clear to China that we understand they are emerging on the world stage as a super power, they should behave like one." McCain continued saying, "a mature nation would recognize that and would bring all leverage to bear on North Korea." McCain also said he didn't understand China's hesitation towards North Korea "unless they are immature and do not understand the consequences of their failure to exercise a beneficial influence," adding that their actions could have been a result of "a degree of naiveté on the part of the new Chinese leadership." [CBS News, 7/7/06]