Ling and Lee Didn't Stop Being P.R. Pawns Once They Left North Korea

I didn't even mention the return of Laura Ling or Euna Lee from captivity in North Korea yesterday because frankly the story didn't interest me as much as it did the mainstream press. My only mention was a Twitter posting that said:

Bill Clinton just walked away from a live microphone without saying anything. That's the most self-control he's ever shown in his life.

Why didn't I care about this story? Well, for one thing these two ladies snuck into North Korea and got themselves arrested. It's hard for me to be sympathetic to people who create their own trouble. Secondly, they worked for Al Gore and that automatically makes me suspicious of their sanity.

Now that they've had their triumphal re-entry to America, some of the details about yesterday's arrival ceremony are coming out. The ladies were being used as P.R. pawns during their stay in Norkland, and that didn't stop when the pot-bellied dictator let them go:

Bill Clinton's triumphant return from North Korea with two rescued US journalists had Hollywood written all over it -- from the Burbank airport to the big-time producer who bankrolled the expedition to the celebrity public-relations firm that orchestrated the homecoming.

A key player in Clinton's high-flying diplomatic mission to rescue Laura Ling and Euna Lee was entertainment mogul Steve Bing, a longtime "Friend of Bill" who lent the ex-president his private Boeing 737.

The multimillionaire mogul paid about $200,000 in fuel and other costs that came with the trans-Pacific flight.

Bing's Shangri-La entertainment firm also funded a major logistical effort to carefully showcase Clinton's arrival in Tinseltown -- which featured Ling lauding the former president while almost in tears....

Hollywood p.r. firm Rogers & Cowan, which represents Bing along with a bevy of A-list celebs, began organizing the arrival ceremony after it got word Tuesday morning -- while Clinton was still on the ground in Pyongyang -- to get ready, according to a Hollywood source.

The firm chose as its venue Hangar 25 at Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank, a solar-powered facility that has hosted other press events.

Bing is a major financial backer of Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party and environmental causes, and has a business constructing environmentally friendly hangars. He also made news over a dispute about whether he fathered British actress Elizabeth Hurley's child, which was revealed to be the care.

Staffers put together three press risers to accommodate more than 100 media and TV crews, and contracted an in-house photographer to capture the event.

The p.r. firm closely coordinated with Bill Clinton's foundation, which worked with former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV to have family members on hand for the homecoming.

One thing that struck me during Ling's tearful speech was when she said she feared every day that she would be shipped off to a hard labor camp. They were sentenced to that fate several months ago, but the fact they were never sent there tells me the Nork's were not interested in punishment, but in a deal and sending the ladies to the camp would make a deal harder to get.

It was pretty clear that a deal had been struck well before Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea. We may never know what the administration or private parties like Gore's Current TV gave up to get these ladies back, but it's safe to say that whatever deal was struck will not be good for America, and the negotiations will only set the stage for the next hostage situation and the next payout.

I'm glad they're out of that hellhole, but I wonder who will be next to pay for their folly of getting caught in the first place.