More Nobel Wisdom from Jimmy Carter

In today’s New York Times, former President Jimmy Carter tells us that the North Korean regime is ready for a deal. Should we believe him? We don’t have to answer on the basis of mere supposition. There is some history here.

On June 22, 1994, after Carter’s return from Pyongyang carrying what became known as the Agreed Framework, he was interviewed on CNN by Judy Woodruff. Here is an excerpt from that conversation:

Jimmy Carter: . . .what the North Koreans were waiting for was some treatment of their exalted leader with respect and a direct communication. . . .I think he was quite ready. I didn’t have to argue with him. When I outlined the specific points that I had been informed in Washington was the administration’s policy. . . . with very little equivocation he agreed. . . . I think it’s all roses now. . . . I’ve known that there were people in Washington who were skeptical about any direct dealing with the North Koreans. They were already condemned as outlaws. Kin Il-sung was already condemned as a criminal. . . . And it was kind of a miracle and almost an incredible statement that Kim Il-sung gave me in response to my proposals, and it was hard to believe. . . .

Judy Woodruff: Are you absolutely persuaded that the North Koreans are going to honor this agreement, that while the talks are going on that it’s not just a matter of buying time on the part of the North Koreans, that they will not secretly pursue the program they were pursuing earlier, the nuclear program?

Jimmy Carter: Judy, I’m convinced. But I said this when I got back from North Korea, and people said that I was naïve or gullible and so forth. I don’t think I was. In my opinion, this was one of those perfect agreements where both sides won and got what they wanted and there were no—nobody blinked, nobody had to yield. . . . I think the most important lesson is that we should not ever avoid direct talks, direct conversations, direct discussions and negotiations with the main person in a despised or misunderstood or condemned society who could actually resolve the issue. And we went through this for ten years when nobody in our government would meet or talk with Yasser Arafat. The Norwegians did, and they were the ones that brought the peace agreement last summer. . . .

I think this blast from the past speaks for itself. Obviously, the extent to which Carter was wrong in June 1994, about both North Korea and Yasser Arafat, is nothing short of breathtaking. The North Koreans did cheat, big time, and there was no Israeli-Palestinian “peace agreement”, only a framework for negotiations that ultimately failed.

One has to hand it to Carter: He is consistent. One also has to hand it to the New York Times; it is, too.