Senate Democrats blocked a “sense of the Senate” amendment yesterday that would have merely urged the State Department to re-list North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. This comes as the Obama Administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempt to draw a softer line on the tyrannical communist regime.
The White House is developing a set of incentives–code word for “gifts”–with which they aim to ply an agreement from the North Koreans on nuclear disarmament.
The blocked amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), noted that “North Korea was removed from that list despite its refusal to account fully for its abduction of foreign citizens, proliferation of nuclear and other dangerous technologies and weapon systems to terrorist groups and other state sponsors of terrorism, or its commission of other past acts of terrorism.”
North Korea has held two American journalists since March, sentencing them each to 12 years of hard labor for allegedly spying on the regime.
Only five members of the Democratic caucus voted for the Brownback amendment: Bayh (IN), Lieberman (CT), Lincoln (AR), Nelson (FL), and Nelson (NE). Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana was the only Republican to vote yea.
Instead of the Brownback amendment, the Senate approved a proposal by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) which requires the President to give a “detailed report examining the conduct of the Government of North Korea since June 26, 2008″ within 30 days of the enactment of the act.
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