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WASHINGTON - Former United States president Bill Clinton rode to the rescue of the two American journalists jailed in North Korea with the skill and confidence of a movie hero. In a visit of less than 24 hours, he chatted with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, won a pardon and the release of the journalists, saw them onto his plane and flew off to Los Angeles in a spectacular sequence made for Hollywood.

Clinton might feel justified in hanging the sign "Mission Accomplished" in his post-presidential office, but the question remains: what did he accomplish? That is, what did he intimate or suggest or imply to Kim, what was the quid...