The successful Korean summit and step toward reconciliation may not have happened if the Bush Administration -- after counterproductive snubbing and saber-rattling -- hadn't engaged North Korea diplomatically and made progress on denuclearization.

This may end up being the only positive foreign policy legacy left by Bush.

But this bright spot very likely comes with a dark side.

As Steve Clemons noted earlier this year that there's a link between progress in Korea and confrontation with Iran:

[Washington Post reporter Glenn] Kessler's two essays ... confirm independent information that this blogger has received from others close to the Iran-US diplomatic game suggesting that not only Cheney's office quashed a positive reaction to Iran's [2003] proposal [to negotiate the end of its nuclear program] but that Powell and his team did.

Powell essentially "traded" progress in North Korea for a regressive stance on Iran that Cheney's gang ws dominating.

Powell did not want to antagonize Cheney with negotiations initiatives at the same time with not just one "Axis of Evil" nation -- but TWO. That was the deal made nearly four years ago.

It is ironic that just yesterday, serious progress was logged in the US-North Korea nuclear standoff, while Cheney's team continues to dominate the rhetoric and approach to dealing with Iran.

And as LIberalOasis noted at the time:

...remember that the Bushies loved to hold up their (anti-democracy) deal with Libya, so they could say they were not only interested in war and saber-rattling and unilateralism to solve international problems.

It's possible that they will now hold up North Korea as evidence they are more than happy to talk, hoping to dampen American concerns about a rush to war, while they continue to ignore diplomatic openings in Iran so they can rush to war.

As Seymour Hersh reported this week, Iran remains very much in the White House crosshairs.

But there's no reason we must passively let the Bushies claim that North Korea gives the credibility to attack Iran.

The opposite is true: the progress in North Korea shows the value in sincere negotiations even with abhorrent dictators.

And with Iran, there are far more openings to talk to relatively moderate and pragmatic factions that with North Korea.

Attacking and occupying Iraq isn't working. Talking to North Korea is working.

Common sense would say, repeat what works. Common sense is not what this White House is based on.