Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 9, 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un celebrates the second test-fire of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on July 29, 2017. Photo: Reuters/via KCNA

Eli Lake, Bloomberg: Here's Why the U.S. Hasn't Brought 'Fire and Fury' to North Korea

Trump isn't the first president to threaten North Korea. The others were all bluffing.

As the world ponders the meaning of President Donald Trump's threat of "fire and fury" on North Korea, it's worth asking why his predecessors never took those steps to stop its nuclear program.

When Bill Clinton was confronted with the threat of North Korea's exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he considered military force. But he ended up going for negotiations in what became known as the Joint Framework Agreement. The North Koreans froze their plutonium program in exchange for fuel shipments and a light water reactor from the U.S. Neither side ever fully delivered.

Then there was George W. Bush. He didn't like North Korea. He put the nation in the original "axis of evil." On his watch, the U.S. discovered Pyongyang had a secret uranium enrichment program, in violation of the spirit of Clinton's deal. Then in 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear device. By 2007, Bush had lifted crippling sanctions on the regime's elites and entered into new negotiations. And surprise: The North Koreans backed out of those talks at the end, too.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 9, 2017

North Korea: fire, fury and fear -- Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

This Is the Moment of Truth on North Korea -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Vietnam ‘may tilt towards US’ in regional power play with China -- Catherine Wong, SCMP

What is China’s PLA doing in Laos? -- Zi Yang, Asia Times

Aging and ailing, who will succeed current Palestinian leaders? -- Miriam Berger and Luke Baker, Reuters

Does Israeli Corruption Probe Of Netanyahu Risk His Grip On Power? -- NPR

Promise and Peril for Argentina’s G20 Presidency -- Guy Edwards, Project Syndicate

Don't Expect Anti-Russian Ardor from Germany -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Catalans Think Twice About Risks of Rupture as Jobs Return -- Esteban Duarte, Bloomberg

Venezuela, Jeremy Corbyn and an ideology that strips people of dignity -- Graeme Archer, CapX

Venezuelan Military Likely To Keep Fracturing Under Dictatorship -- Tim Padgett, WLRN

‘The day the world changed’ – a former trader on how the credit crunch kicked off -- Alexis Stenfors, The Conversation

These are the most — and the least — trusted news sources in the U.S. -- Sue Chang, Market Watch

Here's how much a nuclear weapon costs -- Jonathan Blumberg, CNBC

A Perfect Storm Is Brewing in U.S. Foreign Policy -- Reva Goujon, Stratfor