Michael Yon has built up a great reputation for going to look at tough places under his own steam and reporting on them to an Internet readership.

Here he is following a major US diplomatic push in Asia (not something much covered in the UK).

US Defence Secretary Gates talks firmly on North Korea:

Secretary Gates has made it clear that we have no intention of rewarding bad behavior, as we have done in the past with North Korea.  Many readers seem to hold a special disdain for President Obama, and I actively campaigned for McCain, but I get the feeling that Obama is tougher and proving wiser than many people seem to think. 

I do not detect that we are slinking away from North Korea. It seems as though we are going to have some sort of showdown, which hopefully will all be through diplomacy. I heard Secretary Gates say that a nuclear armed North Korea is not in the cards. (Not verbatim but that was the gist.)

Avoiding ‘rewarding bad behaviour’ is the hardest task of all in diplomacy if not human behaviour as a whole, since there is plenty of evidence that the worse you behave the more attention you get.

Remember the Prodigal Son?

So North Korea has plenty of incentives to hang tough, hoping to get More and/or enjoying being the centre of attention. Apart from anything else, once its iron resolve shows signs of weakening it becomes more like a normal country. And why would North Korea accept that lowly status?

Thus the Americans’ dilemma. Given the psychological issues at stake, how to up the cost to North Korea of its bad behaviour while reducing the real and preceived rewards?

If President Obama can persuade Asian governments to do enough to lean hard on North Korea to behave itself (and get worthwhile results from a real change of tack, not merely sone toned-down rhetoric) that will be Smart Diplomacy indeed.

Michael adds this nice touch. The people on the Gates tour grabbing laptops to dash down and emit their thoughts faster than any one else are the bloggers ?

No, the journalists.

The difference?