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Former President Jimmy Carter has sent North Korea a message of condolence over the death of Kim Jong-il and wished “every success” to the man expected to take over as dictator, according to the communist country’s state-run news agency.

A dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr. Carter sent the message to Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s son and heir apparent.

“In the message Jimmy Carter extended condolences to Kim Jong Un and the Korean people over the demise of leader Kim Jong Il. He wished Kim Jong Un every success as he assumes his new responsibility of leadership, looking forward to another visit to [North Korea] in the future,” the KCNA dispatch read.

When contacted by The Washington Times for comment, the Carter Center provided an email contact to a spokeswoman who is out of the office until the New Year.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:
That's called class.

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N. Korea leader's death fuels 'condolences' debate

Kim Jong-Il's death is raising questions not only of policy but of protocol, with major powers divided on how to offer condolences. -AFP

Thu, Dec 22, 2011
AFP

WASHINGTON - North Korean strongman Kim Jong-Il's death is raising tough questions not only of policy but of protocol, with major world powers divided on whether and how to offer condolences.

The United States and other Western nations have studiously avoided the word "condolences" and instead addressed statements to "the North Korean people" after the demise of an absolute dictator blamed for thousands of deaths.

But US allies South Korea and Japan, which have tense relations with the North and are directly in the crosshairs of the nuclear-armed state, both offered condolences through official statements.

South Korea, which remains technically at war with the North, also said it would allow private groups to offer condolences in the latest effort to try to encourage stability despite deep worries over young successor Kim Jong-Un.

China, North Korea's main ally, quickly showed its grief and President Hu Jintao paid respects at Pyongyang's embassy in Beijing. Other nations that said they were sending formal condolence messages included Russia, Iran and India.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement issued after a day of fine-tuning, urged North Korea's new leadership to embrace "the path of peace" but kept the focus on the country's people rather than its leadership.

"We are deeply concerned with the well-being of the North Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with them during these difficult times," Clinton wrote.


http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story201
11222-317636.html

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So, the shelling of a civilian community was merely a reminder , to tell " the world that they deserve respect " ?? Really?

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I don't think there is anything wrong with expressing condolences when someone dies.

--Anthony

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"This is probably the wrong thread to ask"

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"Well then. I guess the President should have sent his condolences when Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, Pol Pot, Saddam, (and many more) died.

Not to mention Timothy McVeigh, Stalin etc etc.."

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
You're kidding, right?

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Niki, Sig,et al.., The State Dept, as well as most of the Western world, has steered clear of offering personal condolences to the family, and instead offered sympathies to the people on N Korea.

Jong Il was as much a tyrant as Saddam or Qaddafi, with nukes, who has starved an entire nation.

Have YOU no heart ?

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave." ~Indira Gandhi

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave." ~Indira Gandhi

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And that has what to do w/ the issue here ?

Did N.Korea ask for forgiveness ? No? Are they regretting having done anything ? No? Then the point of forgiveness is lost here.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:
You also don't understand that such a small gesture of kindness can go a long way in how people, even your enemies, see you.

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Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
No they don't, and that as much as anything else is why they and those like them are doomed.

-F

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:
Only a very jadded person would think that.....oh hi Frem!

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... You're welcome.

-F

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Jong Il was as much a tyrant as Saddam or Qaddafi, with nukes, who has starved an entire nation. Have YOU no heart ?

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Sig , Sounds to me as if you're in favor of a benevolent dictator, even if they're not so benevolent.

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As with the grandfather, with the father, so shall it be with the son. Saddam's kid were worse than he, so this naive view that we should be all lovey dovey with this regime in the HOPES that they'll soften their stance... shows a complete and total lack of understanding of how they view us, and the world.

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And Niki ? I reserve my sympathies for those members of the human race who display better qualities than forcible mind control over an entire nation, mass starvation of their own citizens, while they bask in luxury and a life style of obscene extravagance

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Originally posted by SignyM:

Oh yeah, I forgot... you don't "do" facts. Neither do I!

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Jimmy Carter is a nice guy but was always weird and incompetant about foreign relations and being president. I'm assuming someone told him this was a good idea rather than just not saying anything? I guess I see how saying something is a way to open the door for communication, but maybe not saying something would have been fine too, since those guys don't like communicating. But if we're going to try communicating now would be the time since the regime change is happening and I hear the new leader likes American basketball teams. My initial response was why say anything, but maybe there's merrit in trying to start a dialogue. We'll see what happens.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Facts are what I do....

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Carter reminds me of the type of liberal christian who ignores all the reality in his face, and believes that simply by showing nothing but love to those who call themselves our enemy, we can change their hearts. Anyone see the original War of the Worlds ? When the priest tried to 'reason' with the aliens, soon after they landed, in hopes of getting them to stop wiping us out ? But you did kinda clue into the point I was trying to make. Jimmy Carter, not an official mouthpiece for the United States, should just stay a 'former' President, and keep the hell quiet.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Facts are what I do....

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It's sad you are so very horrible at what you do!

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
And the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, after Ronald Reagan ( not Carter ) told Mr Gorbachev to " TEAR DOWN THIS WALL !"

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An unspoken rule has been that former Presidents should not comment on the polices of their successors.

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Jimmy Carter Arrives in North Korea to Push for Nuclear Disarmament Talks

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And the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, after Bush ( not Carter ) told Mr Gorbachev to " TEAR DOWN THIS WALL !"

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It's beyond laughable that you think anyone of any merit, what so ever, credits Carter, and not Reagan, for ushering the demise of the Soviet Union.

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"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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In two weeks the sheeplike masses of any country can be worked up by the newspapers into such a state of excited fury that men are prepared to put on uniforms and kill and be killed, for the sake of the sordid ends of a few interested parties.

If unrestricted sacred egoism leads to dire consequences in economic life, it is still worse as a guide in international relations. The development of mechanical methods of warfare is such that human life will become intolerable if people do not discover before long a way of preventing war. The importance of this object is only equalled by the inadequacy of the attempts hitherto made to attain it

..the greatest obstacle to international order is that monstrously exaggerated spirit of nationalism which also goes by the fair-sounding but misused name of patriotism. During the last century and a half this idol has acquired an uncanny and exceedingly pernicious power everywhere.

Anybody who really wants to abolish war must resolutely declare himself in favour of his own country's resigning a portion of its sovereignty in favour of international institutions: he must be ready to make his own country amenable, in case of a dispute, to the award of an international court. He must, in the most uncompromising fashion, support disarmament all round, as is actually envisaged in the unfortunate Treaty of Versailles; unless military and aggressively patriotic education is abolished, we can hope for no progress.
-Albert Einstein

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
And the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, after Ronald Reagan ( not Carter ) told Mr Gorbachev to " TEAR DOWN THIS WALL !"

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Yes, clearly that is all it took was Reagan asking. Cater and the other Presidents before him should get no credit in that fight simply because Reagan was there at the end.

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Reagan saw things differently, and that's what upset so many " insiders ". His view of the Cold war ? " We win, they lose ". That matter of fact, no question about it sentiment was unheard of in D.C., especially when it came to dealing w/ the Soviets.

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Originally posted by SignyM:

But you don't win wars with attitude.

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Yes, you do. That's the ONLY way you win a war. The US didn't " sorta " win its liberty from the British. We didn't " kinda " destroy the NAZIs.

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Originally posted by Niki2:

Many HISTORIANS have said that Reagan and his "wall" speech was a case of someone being at the right place at the right time in history. It's a shame blind partisans aren't able to see beyond their own partisan beliefs.

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Originally posted by SignyM:

In any case, to recap....

Carter didn't comment on previous Presidents, he has a history of being involved with negotiations w/ N Korea, he may have even offered condolences at the behest of the State Department. I would say he was entirely within his rights to offer condolences, and that it may even turn out to be a useful bridge of communication with N Korea that allows us to avoid going thru China.

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Einstein was not pro-war. he was a socialist and a pacifist.

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The Berlin Wall did not come down because Reagan said so! It was a combination of being militarily outspent by the USA, internal inefficiencies and corruption, and the long slog of war in Afghanistan.

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No one ever claimed it came down because " Reagan said so ". But his attitude, his tone, and yes, his policies, along with an array of other factors, INCLUDING JIMMY CARTER helped set things in motion. Others from around the world can see this plainly, I wonder why so many here in the US refuse to do so as well.

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Originally posted by SignyM:
I added to my post above.

You really just have a hard-on for Jimmy Carter. It goes beyond reason and reality. But to be honest, when he DID engage militarily, he created the kind of failed state that has done us so much damage already. The USA has no long-term interest in creating failed states.

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No, I just fucking hate the guy. I live with in 10 minutes of his Presidential library, and will never set foot inside it, because I loathe him and what he stands for, so much.

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Originally posted by SignyM:

Yeah, we kinda noticed. That kind of loathing causes people to quote Einstein as if he was a war-monger, level all kinds of accusations that turn out to be rather silly, and in general froth at the mouth. So let's get off your personal reaction to one guy, and think about something a little more abstract.

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Hell, you can't even read a simple quote by Einstein with out getting the meaning all contorted, why should I think you'd cut me any slack ?

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