Clinton and Carter Did It
Mr Kerry attacked Pres Bush again when he said, “I think that this one (referring to North Korea’s nuclear capability) is the most serious failures and challenges to the security of the United States, and it really underscores the way in which George Bush talks the game but doesn't deliver, They have taken their eye off the real ball, They took it off in Afghanistan and shifted it to Iraq. They took it off in North Korea and shifted it to Iraq. They took it off to Russia and the nuclear materials there, and shifted it to Iraq."
To my liberal friends, the problem with North Korea and her nuclear capability was as a result of Mr Clinton and Mr Carter giving the North Koreans 2 “light water nuclear reactors” that they used to manufacture their nuclear weapons. And these are the facts.
On October 12, 1994, the Clinton administration signed an agreement with North Korea that established a three-stage process for the elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. In return, the United States promised to move toward normalized economic and diplomatic relations and assured North Korea that it would provide assistance with the construction of LWRs (Light Water Reactors) to replace North Korea’s graphite-moderated reactors.
Then on October 21, 1994 the United States and North Korea concluded four months of negotiations by adopting the “Agreed Framework” in Geneva. To resolve U.S. concerns about Pyongyang’s plutonium-producing reactors and the Yongbyon reprocessing facility, the agreement called for North Korea to freeze and eventually eliminate its nuclear facilities, a process that would require dismantling three nuclear reactors, two of which are still under construction. North Korea also agreed to allow the IAEA to verify compliance through “special inspections,” and it agreed to allow 8,000 spent nuclear reactor fuel elements to be removed to a third country.
In exchange, Pyongyang received two light water reactors and annual shipments of heavy fuel oil during construction of the reactors. The light water reactors would be financed and constructed through the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), a multinational consortium.
Calling for movement toward full normalization of political and economic relations, the accord also served as a jumping-off point for U.S.-North Korean dialogue on Pyongyang’s development and export of ballistic missiles, as well as other issues of bilateral concern.
According to an article written by Michael Valenti, Michanical Engineering – CIME dated April 1, 1995, modular designs involving prefabricated components are the main mode of the new generation of advanced light-water nuclear reactors that would replace aging reactor systems. Signals are transmitted throughout the plant using fiber-optics technology which also cuts costs as it enhances the safety features of the facility. Passive safety measures such as gravity and convection exist to further reduce pumps, valves and other instruments. With modular construction, more-sophisticated communications, and safer designs, advanced light-water reactors are set to replace aging nuclear power plants.
At that time the Clinton Administration said that what they gave to North Korea avoided a pending war with North Korea. The rest is history. North Korea ignored their agreement.
I am sure that if Mr Bush was President then, he would not have succumbed to blackmail.
So Mr Kerry, instead of blaming Pres Bush, he should point his fingers to his mentors.
aconservative
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