Bush trusts in diplomacy for North Korea... by I

** wow im a dork for copying the story 3times!**

Bush trusts in diplomacy

CRAWFORD, Texas--President Bush, trying to show the difference between the North Korea and Iraq standoffs, said Tuesday he is confident North Korea's nuclear buildup can be stopped with diplomacy, but warned that Saddam Hussein ''hasn't heard the message.''

The president said he had not decided whether to wage war with Iraq, but suggested the economic cost of going to war to eliminate Saddam's weapons of mass destruction is better than risking an attack from them.

''An attack from Saddam Hussein or a surrogate of Saddam Hussein would cripple our economy,'' Bush said as he stopped for lunch at a local diner near his Texas ranch. ''This economy cannot afford to stand an attack.'' Bush made the comment in response to a question about reports that his administration was ready to spend $50 billion to $60 billion to disarm Saddam.

In his first public remarks on North Korea in two weeks, Bush said ''all options, of course, are always on the table for any president,'' but he also suggested that military conflict is not being considered.

''I believe this is not a military showdown. This is a diplomatic showdown,'' Bush said.

He said the United States is working with allies to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. In violation of a 1994 deal with the United States, Pyongyang has restarted its efforts to develop nuclear weapons and add to an alleged stockpile of one or two bombs.

Bush is coming under criticism for treating Iraq as a greater threat than North Korea, when the United States has not proven whether Saddam has nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

Asked to explain the distinction, Bush said that Saddam had been close to developing a nuclear weapon in the 1990s and said Iraq has flouted efforts to curb his aggression for 11 years.

He said Saddam's first attempt to comply with the latest United Nations arms resolution--a declaration of the status of his weapons program--''was discouraging.''

''Thus far, it appears at first look that Saddam Hussein hasn't heard the message,'' Bush said.

The 3rd Infantry Division was ordered to the Persian Gulf this week, but the president responded abruptly when a reporter suggested war was inevitable.

''You say we're headed to war in Iraq. I don't know why you suggested that,'' he said. ''I'm the person who gets to decide, not you.''

While Bush downplayed the possibility of war with North Korea, the communist nation accused the United States of planning to invade and said it would fight ''to the last man.''

Escalating the crisis, North Korea's ambassador to Moscow said Pyongyang could not make good on its commitments under an international treaty designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

Ambassador Pak Ui Chun said Washington had threatened North Korea ''with a pre-emptive nuclear strike,'' the Russian Interfax news agency reported. ''These conditions also make it impossible for us to abide by the treaty, whose main provision bans nuclear powers from using nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.''

The South's outgoing president and president-elect both warned that plans being considered by Washington to impose sanctions on North Korea might not work.

''I am skeptical whether so-called 'tailored containment' reportedly being considered by the United States is an effective means to control or impose a surrender on North Korea,'' President-elect Roh Moo-hyun said. AP Bush made the comment in response to a question about reports that his administration was ready to spend $50 billion to $60 billion to disarm Saddam.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-korea01.html

**Seems as if there's diplomacy for the madmen while there's war for the compliers.**

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