For months there have been efforts to release two journalists arrested in North Korea. They were there to document the humanitarian nightmare that is North Korea when they were picked up and detained.
One can assume that the United States has tried for months to secure their release. The two journalists likely found themselves used as pawns in negotiations about humanitarian relief and nuclear bombs.
Months go by and nothing happens. Months!
Then Bill Clinton shows up. In less than a day they are free. Bill Clinton flies to North Korean, has one of his famous 2 hour dinners, pulls a Moses, and President Kim Jong Il lets him take them home.
President Clinton and his team did engage in an hour-and-15 minute meeting with President Kim Jong Il, and then had a dinner which lasted a little over two hours. “So the total amount of time that they were in meetings or agendas with each other was about a little over three hours and 15 minutes,” one official said. Link
Rumor has it that during the meeting they discussed Michael Jackson’s untimely death over a game of Texas Hold ‘Em. Their time together was light-hearted and fun until Kim Jong Il went all-in with a pair of 4’s and Bill folded. Upon discovery of the North Korean presidents hand, Bill looked at Il and said, “Now that’s an axis of evil!” Apparently sarcasm doesn’t play well in North Korea and Bill had to lighten the mood by doing his impression of George W. Bush saying “nuclear proliferation treaty.” I mean, who can’t keep a straight face after hearing that?
If I had to guess, Kim Jong Il also got a signed copy of Bill’s book and made a donation of $4,000 to Hillary’s campaign fund. Al Gore sent along a DVD of An Inconvenient Truth but it was a Blueray disc and Il only has a standard format DVD player.
Also included in the trade were a box of cuban cigars, a bottle of scotch, and a player to be named later.
Where else can we send Bill to say, “Let my people go?”
Leave a Reply