Left Flank

Joshua at OFK has the money quote on the «deal» in Beijing at the (how many?) Six-Party Talks. 

After seven years in power, it [the Bush administration] never really managed to make up its mind about which Korea policy it was really pursuing.

The defining characteristic of the Bush administration has been, and continues to be, «fractiousness».  The most disabling rift pitted Powell-Armitage against Rumsfeld-(whoever served his purpose that week).  9/11 gave the President a free pass until Rumsfeld-Cheney fumbled in Baghdad and ever after.  This little notch in the belt will temporarily keep the Democrats from using the punchline that the Iraq war has distracted the Bush administration from the rest of the world, but not for long.  Surely, Pyongyang will do its crazy dance again, and it will time to ante up again.  There are other problems brewing.

South Korean negotiator Chun Young-woo got his picture in the newspaper.

Chun said the difference with the abortive Geneva Accords of 1994 is that Pyongyang will be given staggered rewards as it moves toward abandoning its nuclear program. Under the Geneva agreement, freezing the facilities alone meant massive energy aid, but this time, rewards will be given according to how the North implements each step. The agreement requires North Korea to take initial measures within 60 days. The five countries will each provide the energy they can afford as well as heavy fuel oil, sharing the burden of payment equally, Chun said.

Chun could have counted coup and been less ecstatic.  With the Bush administration asleep at the wheel for over six years, Seoul's shift to Beijing's junior partner is complete. This iteration of the Six-Party Talks gave Seoul the plan it always wanted, a phased timetable.  Beijing scores big, because it has again demonstrated its ability to lead diplomatically and keep Pyongyang just on enough of a leash that it can have it both ways. When Pyongyang acts up, Japan screams and the US coddles it; when Pyongyang signs a deal, Beijing is the host.  All the while the Bush administration bleeds credibility and resources.

Just how much the Bush administration bled is revealed in this fluff piece.

His easygoing manner has also won over the media in comparison to the stonewall public relations efforts put forward by some of the other countries in the talks.

And with the negotiations taking place for hours on end behind closed doors, the idle time fuels speculation and jokes about Hill, including his clothes sense.

The Beijing winter means Hill has been wearing a winter jacket that looks like it had been bought from a discount store, one Japanese reporter said. But he said Hill still looks good in it anyway.

The interest in Hill may also stem from the fact that he speaks to the media every morning and evening, while his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan gives only the occasional chaotic news conference.

Hill, a Boston Red Sox fan, also won over the Japanese media by turning up for meetings in Tokyo wearing a Seibu Lions baseball cap. The Red Sox just signed pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka from the Lions.

A career foreign service officer who has served five presidents, Hill speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian and Albanian.

Interest in Hill, who is on the evening television news every day in Beijing, has even extended to the security men surrounding him.

One bodyguard has been dubbed «Matrix» by Japanese reporters for his sleek sunglasses which look like they came from the science fiction movie. But even when the guard turned up in a new camel coat, he still did not outshine the boss's jacket.

No doubt, Chris Hill is the only «rock star» the Bush administration has, and his talent is real.  But, he is everything the Bush administration is not in the world, and his popularity speaks volumes how the world hates the Bush administration's policies and style.  He's a consummate diplomat in a cabal full of (chicken) hawks, theocrats, and plutocrats.  Strangely enough, Hill has rarely turned his talent against the South Koreans, where he has scored well, but not for long. 

Lastly, Richardson points out Tokyo's likely beef, but there's also what Moscow gave to help seal the deal.