BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Sometimes Americans give North Korean officials far more credit than they deserve for allegedly outsmarting us. Just how smart, really, are they?
Headlines can deceive. Sure, in the latest twist in the six-party talks, the Bush administration notably downsized its verification requirements in order to keep the nuclear-disarmament discussions going forward.
Acting on the recommendation of chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice persuaded President George W. Bush to sign off on some perhaps surprising concessions. But the U.S. diplomats were right to so recommend, and the president, critics on his rightwing notwithstanding, was wise to accept their judgment.