The Devil's in the details?

GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea agreed in weekend talks with the United States to fully account for and disable its nuclear programs by the end of this year, negotiators said on Sunday.

"We had very good, very substantive talks," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill told reporters. "One thing that we agreed on is that (North Korea) will provide a full declaration of all of their nuclear programs and will disable their nuclear programs by the end of this year, 2007."
(Reuters)

If the verification is done effectively, then great. If not, then this may be no better than Jimmy Carter's "Agreed Framework" arrangement that eventually led to North Korea's nuclear weapons tests.

It would be nice if North Korea would start down the same sort of reform path that China has taken. Not that China is trustworthy just yet.

Hat tip to Captain's Quarters.

Jimmy Carter update

During a speaking engagement at Brandeis University, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter offered an apology for a statement in his recent book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid."

In response to a question criticizing a section of his book that appears to justify the use of terrorism, Carter admitted it was a mistake.

Calling the wording "stupid," Carter said, "I apologize to you personally and to everyone here." He said he has asked his publishers to change the wording in future editions.
(Jewish Review)

That hardly atones for the work as a whole, unfortunately, but at least credit Carter for owning up to the extremely unfortunate choice of words in this particular case. Especially see the comments of Alan Dershowitz in the linked article.

More on the worst ex-president of the U.S.

Another hat-tip goes out to Powerline for pointing out former Carter Center director Kenneth Stein's critique of Carter's latest book, "Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid."

Stein resigned because of the partisan nature of Carter's book. In the critique he effectively explains why he resigned.

While Carter says that he wrote the book to educate and provoke debate, the narrative aims its attack toward Israel, Israeli politicians, and Israel's supporters. It contains egregious errors of both commission and omission. To suit his desired ends, he manipulates information, redefines facts, and exaggerates conclusions. Falsehoods, when repeated and backed by the prestige of Carter's credentials, can comprise an erroneous baseline for shaping and reinforcing attitudes and policymaking. Rather than bring peace, they can further fuel hostilities, encourage retrenchment, and hamper peacemaking.
(read it all)

Washington Post slams NSA decision by Judge Taylor

Hat tip to Power Line.

THE NATION would benefit from a serious, scholarly and hard-hitting judicial examination of the National Security Administration's program of warrantless surveillance. The program exists on ever-more uncertain legal ground; it is at least in considerable tension with federal law and the Bill of Rights. Careful judicial scrutiny could serve both to hold the administration accountable and to provide firmer legal footing for such surveillance as may be necessary for national security.

Unfortunately, the decision yesterday by a federal district court in Detroit, striking down the NSA's program, is neither careful or scholarly, and it is hard-hitting only in the sense that a bludgeon is hard-hitting. The angry rhetoric of U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor will no doubt grab headlines. But as a piece of judicial work--that is, as a guide to what the law requires and how it either restrains or permits the NSA's program--her opinion will not be helpful.
(read the rest)

Judge Taylor was a Carter appointee, for what it's worth.