Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 17, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Bertil Lintner, Asia Times: Why the Trump-Kim talks will fail

Denuclearization summit fits a pattern of past failed agreements and overlooks the Kim dynasty's long obsession with acquiring nuclear weapons

If US President Donald Trump is to be believed, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un may be interested in giving up his nuclear arsenal.

“For years and through many administrations, everyone said the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was not even a small possibility,” Trump tweeted on March 28. “Now there is a good chance Kim Jong-un will do what is right for its people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!”

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 17, 2018

Trump's North Korea denuclearization negotiations likely hinge on China. Kim Jong Un knows what he's doing. -- Anish Goel, NBC

The elephant in the Trump-Abe room -- Robert Boxwell, Reuters

Tokyo’s Awakening on Trump -- J. Berkshire Miller & Irina Angelescu, National Interest

Donald Trump Is Wrong to Keep U.S. Troops in Syria With Pointless Mission Creep -- Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, Newsweek

What Iran Really Wants -- Paul R. Pillar, National Interest

If America Wants to Hit Iran Hard, Go for Its Flabby Economy -- David Rosenberg, Haaretz

What the thick tire smoke at the Gaza-Israel border means -- Ziva Dahl, The Washington Times

China is vulnerable -- L. Todd Wood, Washington Times

U.S. Earns More in China Than Trade Numbers Reveal -- Daniel Moss, Bloomberg

Russian cyber attack should be met by counter-strikes -- Sandeep Gopalan, The Hill

If Russia launches a cyber attack on the UK, this is what we can do -- Siraj Shaikh, The Independent

“I Appreciate the Forthright Conversations”: Emmanuel Macron Opens Up About Iran and His New Pal in the West Wing -- Tom Sancton, Vanity Fair

The Castros are stepping aside in Cuba, but they leave an uncertain future for the island -- Reuters

Brazil’s election is now up for grabs: The jailing of Lula has big implications for October’s national vote -- The Economist

Is this database a bigger threat than Facebook? -- Matt Laslo, Reuters

Great powers race for space war supremacy -- Alan Boyd, Asia Times