Cheney vs. Rice on North Korea?

It's the new parlor game in Washington: Why did President Bush de-list North Korea, once part of the administration's "axis of evil," from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror?

Insiders are crediting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for promoting diplomacy over hard-line Vice President Dick Cheney.

Bush came in to office talking tough with North Korea over its nuclear program, pulling out of Clinton-era talks in 2002 and hoping to isolate Pyongyang. But after North Korea exploded its first nuclear device in October 2006, Rice persuaded him to change course.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, Cheney was so miffed about the matter, he ended an off-the-record session with think tank types when asked about it.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: AFP / Getty Images

Comments

[eliana]

Now that Iraq is basically America's little fixer-upper, and North Korea is finally promising to not nuke us, the Axis of Evil consists only of lonely old Iran and no one else. It's time to get some new blood in that club. 23/6 offers the following nominations: http://www.236.com/news/2008/06/26/theres_another_opening_in_the_1_7399.php