So as President Bush looks to leave office with a positive legacy (knowing historical judgement will take some time on Iraq), his Administration is now removing North Korea from the sponsors of terrorism list.  Secretary of State Rice makes clear in this op-ed from the Wall Street Journal that this policy is allowing us more access than we would have otherwise to information regarding what type of activities North Korea has been engaged in.

Also, on Friday, North Korea will blow up the cooling tower at their facility at Yongbyon.  This will look very nice for the cameras and seem to show that "diplomacy" within the context of the Six-Party talks is working.  However, there are reasons to be concerned about Bush's apparent downgrading of North Korea from its previosu position in the "Axis of Evil."

We still won't know about the North Korean uranium enrichment (most of what they are stopping deals with plutonium).  Also, while they are saying international inspectors will be given some access, we've been down that road before under President Clinton.  Consequently, this seems a lot like a PR stunt that may not have too much content.

I may be wrong, and, truth be told, given all of the other events in the world, we definitely won't (and can't presently even if we wanted to) engage in a coercive disarmament of North Korea, but this agreement doesn't seem like it will work for the long-term.  But, it may be the best we can get.  If the Kim jong-Il regime realizes the benefits of cooperation, maybe, just maybe, we can avoid a distinctly unpleasant altercation on the Korean peninsula.  If he once again yanks our chain, we will have done more than act in good faith... again.  This may give us the flexibility for a more robust policy in the future.