We’ve just had a public holiday in the UK and, in consequence, a long weekend but I wanted to add a few thoughts to Jeffrey’s post last Friday about Chris Ford’s resignation .
Being the US representative at NPT meetings is a pretty thankless task, but Dr Ford did it very well. What made him a bit different was his willingness to debate and discuss the “ D word ”. This speech, In Praise of Complexity: Some Thoughts on Disarmament Ethics in the Real World , is a good example of his style. You don’t often see this level of thoughtfulness from a government official from anywhere.
He is also one of the funnier diplomats out there. I saw him close-up at a workshop earlier this year. His speech focused on the issue of withdrawal from the NPT and his opening went something along the lines of “In January 2003, when North Korea suspended the suspension of its withdrawal, as it were…”
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Bobby Egan on the North Korean Nuclear TestFrom: armscontrolwonk.com
Post Date: 2007-10-11 13:32:04
I did not think it was possible, but Kim Jong Il might not be the most colorful character in the entire saga of US- DPRK relations. For all the Il-iminator’s quirks and foibles, that title clearly belongs Bobby Egan — BBQ hawker and, in his own description, “Kim Jong Il’s guy in New Jersey”.
Rebecca Mead has a long profile in The New Yorker with this tidbit:
Even more surprisingly, Egan claims that last year, when relations between the U.S...
more Mission to Moscow [2]From: armscontrolwonk.com
Post Date: 2007-10-11 09:12:35
McClatchy’s Jonathan Landay reports that Rice and Gates are headed to Moscow to discuss missile defense deployments in Europe, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty and, my favorite, extending the verification provisions of the START treaty:
Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a rare joint mission to Moscow this week in a bid to break arms disputes that have helped plunge U.S.-Russian ties to their chilliest depth ...
more Curveball Docs [1]From: armscontrolwonk.com
Post Date: 2007-11-09 09:44:38
Since I’ve been blogging talking and talking so much about Curveball and Bob Drogin’s excellent book of the same name , I thought I should link to the excellent document cache posted by our friends at the National Security Archive.
...
more Finger Lickin’ GoodFrom: armscontrolwonk.com
Post Date: 2007-11-09 06:08:35
Pyongyang gets fried chicken delivery for the first time. AP’s Jaesoon Chang explains :
Choi Won-ho, head of a fried chicken franchiser that has about 70 restaurants across South Korea, said Friday he is opening a 50-table restaurant in Pyongyang on Nov. 15. It will also deliver chicken and draft beer to homes.
“I have wanted to be the world’s best chicken brand,” Choi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“But I thought it ...
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