If I understand it right Otto went with his parents blessing. They were suckered into the Young Pioneers website and claims of safety record. It was a very short trip. From story of his roommate I doubt he did anything while in NK than follow the rules. If they didn’t get Otto, they would have taken an American on the next tour coming through.
Regarding whether his parents knew or could have prevented Otto from going -
I wonder if some of the dad’s lashing out at the Obama administration during the press conference is really misplaced anger at himself/feeling guilt for not doing more to stop his son from going?
Like the poster upthread who mentioned it, I cannot believe that the Obama administration sat there and did nothing to free Otto. There must have been a lot of back channel efforts to free him. Given how chaotic the US foreign policy is now, I can’t see that Trump was anything but lucky to have Otto released.
Perhaps NK was hanging onto him and then when Trump was unexpectedly elected they thought they could use Otto’s release to the Trump administration for their own gain (under whatever warped gamesmanship they use) - and to try to make Obama look bad. Sort of like how the Iranian hostages were released within days of Carter leaving office.
ETA - @gouf78 where have you seen information that Otto went with him parents’ blessing?
Actually I thought his dad said it during the press conference.
I’m not really sure its for any of us to try and decipher why Otto’s father lashed out at the Obama administration (meaning was it misplaced guilt etc). The fact is that Obama didn’t get it done. We will probably never know the reason for his release at this particular time, but it got done while Trump was in office, so kudos to him and his administration, because at the end of the day, all that matters is that this kid is finally home with his family. Give credit where credit is due and lets not pretend to know more than we do.
I thought it was Swedish diplomats who brokered his release.
I’ve taken my kids to Morocco, Dubai, Turkey, Russia, China and Myanmar, and I think they’ve been enriched by every trip. What these trips do require is planning and discipline. You can’t visit one of these lesser-traveled areas without a bit of foresight. My daughter was quite irritated with me for insisting she had to cover her shoulders and wear long skirts or pants in the Medina of Marrakesh, that is until she saw two women being harassed and spit on for wearing what would be considered rather modest sundresses in the US.
That said, I would never take my kids to N. Korea or travel there myself. Some places are just too risky. I have a home in Mexico and spend a lot of time there but there are parts of Mexico I would not let my kids visit no matter who they were going with. IMO, limited, ration risks are okay, crazy risks are not. I guess it’s up to all of us to decide for ourselves where the line between the two falls.
The Swedish diplomats were representing US interests, according to the Washington Post:
"He had not been seen in public since, and Swedish diplomats, representing U.S. interests, had been denied consular access to him. Officials involved in negotiations to free Warmbier and another American citizen being detained were told they were being treated as prisoners of war.
During a secret meeting in Oslo last month with Joseph Yun, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, high-level North Korean officials agreed that Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang would be allowed to visit the four Americans imprisoned by the North.
But in Pyongyang, the Swedes were allowed to see only one detainee, and it wasn’t Warmbier.
As the Americans continued to push for the Swedish diplomats to see all four, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations urgently requested a meeting with Yun in New York, according to Trump administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the still-secret arrangements. There, North Korean officials told Yun about Warmbier’s condition.
He informed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who consulted with the president, the officials said.
Yun was instructed to prepare to travel to Pyongyang with the intention of bringing Warmbier back to the United States. A medical team and aircraft were organized, and North Korea was informed that a delegation would travel there.
“It wasn’t a situation where they asked,” one official said of the U.S. representatives. The North Koreans “were informed that the airplane would land, American and medical officials would get out.”"
I can’t help think what if he was released sooner, a year ago. He had a chance to recover from his vegetative state.
agreed
working on a compound with lots of security in Iraq or Afghanistan is not similar to going to North Korea or Syria… and the pay is quite good! That said, it is definitely more dangerous than a cubicle in DC, lol.
edit: There is zero percent chance the CIA is sending college students to North Korea, lol
US Ambassador Joseph Yun, Tillerson, and Trump were the primary players involved in his release.
I have to disagree with GnocchiB’s characterization of Otto’s father as “lashing out” against the Obama administration, at least in terms of the press conference. I would urge other posters on this thread to take a look at the press conference and decide for themselves. What I saw was just calm implicit criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of the case. Otto’s father reported two facts: First, that the State Department under Obama had encouraged them to keep a very low profile–no ribbons on trees–in order not to disturb the North Koreans; and second, that he had not been contacted by President Obama. During the Obama administration, there was no evident progress toward Otto’s release.
I write this as someone who voted for Obama and both Clintons. But I think to call Fred Warmbier’s statement “lashing out” is an alternative fact or a new definition of “lashing.” Of course the family would be distraught that they had agreed to the trip. People don’t know enough about North Korea to assess the danger accurately.
I have to contrast the situation of the people who run Young Pioneer Tours with the operators of the Everest expeditions. Climbing Mount Everest is hazardous. Rob Hall stayed on the mountain to help his client Doug Hansen, and both died there. The “guides” from Young Pioneer Tours abandoned Otto Warmbier.
I think it is the height of insensitive arrogance for Young Pioneer Tours to now claim on there web site that there has been only one detention in 8000 tourist trips. Principally, they should be ashamed of this reaction. The operators of this tour company apparently come from civilized countries. Secondarily, I don’t believe that they mention Otto Warmbier by name, nor what happened to him during his detention. Also, they ought to reduce their figure of 8000 to the number of Americans, not the number of people of all nationalities. I hope that in the future, a memorial to Otto Warmbier and his plight will automatically come up whenever anyone searches Young Pioneer Tours, or any of the companies that its owners are ever connected with in the future.
Yes, that is victim blaming. Who among us would not also feel the same way if one administration told us to keep quiet about our child, with no progress, and the other administration got him released? It’s just a fact of what happened, no matter whom we voted for.
I hope the Warmbiers can sue Young Pioneers into oblivion.
Sue a company based in China? Sure, that will happen.
Fred Warmbier criticized the US policy of not paying ransom for US citizens detained in foreign countries. That’s the policy and has been under all administrations, past and current.
I don’t see how anyone can assume this from what has been stated in the media. Our current administration is considered to be “volatile” by the rest of the world and has not impressed anyone with its diplomacy skills (just gonna leave it at that). How would it suddenly develop the necessary diplomatic skills to orchestrate something like this with the NK lunatic? I think it was just a matter of unfortunate timing - Otto’s release was probably due to the fact NK thought he was near death and they didn’t want him to die in their custody.
“That’s the policy and has been under all administrations, past and current”
Pretty sure though that being told to not tie a yellow ribbon on a tree and keep quiet has not been policy.
@twoinanddone - can you provide links from reputable sources where this is stated - i.e., that his parents knew he was going and ‘allowed’ it? I haven’t read that yet.
None of us know - for a fact - why he was there. Therefore it is hyperbole to equate it to wrestling with alligators, swimming with sharks, etc.
It sounds like an attempt to somehow believe that something like this could never happen to our own kids or people we love. After all we would never be so stupid. 
It saddens me to see people judge him and/or his family when the odds are we don’t know even half the story. Haven’t they paid a big enough price no matter who is at fault?
That is all I am saying.
The last administration released five terrorists in exchange for a military deserter. They also paid 400 million to the Iranians for five hostages. I can see why this family was angry they were told to keep quiet, while their child was suffering brain damage.
What are you talking about? It is a fact that Yun, Tillerson, and Trump were the primary players involved in Otto’s release… this is not open to political interpretation.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/13/politics/otto-warmbier-north-korea-release-tic-toc/index.html
We must be willing to give credit where credit is due here.
Leastcomplicated-If the Warmbeir family is willing to recognize the Trump Administration with his release than who we are to doubt it? You state that assumptions are made because it was stated in the media, but the only assumptions being made are yours. Unless you have factual evidence to prove otherwise.
Fractalmstr and busdriver11- I couldn’t agree with you more