Special Pardon of American Journalists

At last!!! American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been freed from their imprisonment in North Korea.

A "special pardon" issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il followed former President Bill Clinton's request that the journalists be released, according to an Associated Press story that appeared in today's Huffington Post:

"The move to release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor, reflected North Korea's "humanitarian and peace loving policy," the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang early Wednesday."

This is very good news; something I didn't think we'd see for a while. Am still not sure how it happened and even less certain that it reflected as is stated above 'North Korea's humanitarian and peace loving policy.'

Maybe Il is doing this to impress his own people or maybe it's to save face. How could he have gotten away with keeping them in a hard labor camp for 12 years?

Well, he did capture the world's attention with the sentencing and now he captures it again with the pardon. These may be the only ways he has of "getting attention". Reminds me of what I've learned as a parent about children: that when it comes to getting attention, acting out can be a way to make sure you are being noticed. Effective? Yes. Smart? No.