North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump look on during the extended bilateral meeting in the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 28, 2019.
VOA: North Korea’s Strategy: Slam Everyone But Trump
SEOUL — North Korea has directed a wave of criticism at top White House officials, as talks with the United States have stalled. But one person Pyongyang hasn’t criticized: Donald Trump.
The pattern reflects North Korea’s apparent preference to continue negotiating directly with Trump, who has taken a more conciliatory approach to the nuclear talks than many of his deputies.
It also appears to be a carefully calibrated effort by North Korea to increase negotiating pressure on the U.S. without completely derailing the talks.
“They’re good at drawing the line,” says David Kim, who specializes in East Asia security policy at the Washington-based Stimson Center. “As long as they don’t bash Trump, we’ll be OK.”
North Korea has bashed plenty of other U.S. officials in recent weeks.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: One can say the same thing about the White House, and their total lack of criticisms of Kim Jong Un.
16 comments:
What’s better, a regular dose of missile launches over Japan towards Hawaii, nuclear bomb tests and mutual threats of nuclear war or talks without all of that?
I’ll take talk-talk over war-war. Every time.
Bingo, anon.
Hang on for what end game. Nothing tangible has been achieved, nothing concrete has been agreed to, just a vague detent.
Does anyone seriously beleive his research has been disbanded or testing halted?
The only reason he's stopped sending missiles up is because it's buying him time and has undermined and weakened the Sth and U. S alliance and as the last few launches were a success he probably has all the data he needs.
Anon & Russ,
IMHO you've nailed it!! There's very little I can add here except to point out, to me at least, circa September 2017 war with North Korea seemed inevitable. As POTUS correctly pointed out, in such a war millions would have died and they would not have been limited to North and South Korea. This would have included millions and perhaps tens of millions of Americans on the US mainland. Furthermore victory for America and its allies would have been far from certain with a very real chance of defeat with the prospects of victory being problematic at best. So, with war meaning a strong possibility of a US defeat, millions if not tens of millions of dead Americans, and the end of our South Korean ally I will take the current situation over that anytime.
As an added bonus, this has allowed us valuable time to upgrade our military capabilities and to properly prepare should diplomacy fail putting us in a better position than we would have been had we had to go to war in between September 2017 and March 2018. In September 2017 I had predicted "war within six months." As it took some time to reverse the pre-Trump policies, in September 2017 we were still bearing the fruits of previous policies. Now, has this time been used wisely to properly prepare our armed forces? I hope so.
Additionally, as an article the editor linked to points out, South Korea has gone a military buying spree. They figure to be in a better position should diplomacy fail. Furthermore if North Korea and their allies understand they are facing a much tougher opposition it should help in the negotiating process.
While we cannot "know" for certain what is happening without inside information in real time, the only new variable to this is Trump. As such, I tend to credit Trump diplomacy as the primary reason behind the progress that has been made. As I point out elsewhere, the Russians and the Chinese have a degree of respect and fear for Trump that is not present for other US officials. What I meant to add but failed to is there is an element of trust they have of Trump as they have had business dealings with him and his organizations in the past. Essentially given the downside risks we do NOT want to go back to where we were circa September 2017. Should it come to that hopefully the breathing space provided by the lull has been used wisely to upgrade our military forces.
Fazman,
"Hang on for what end game..." The reduction in tensions is a huge deal as is getting the remains of our deceased service men back. In this culture this a huge deal. Also, getting a face to face meeting with Kim in such public venues has extended a degree of prestige and respect to Trump and by extension the US. Essentially the North Koreans and their allies have extended legitimacy to the US and South Korean positions that had not been there before. Also, the recent shakeup in top North Korean officials is probably not an accident.
"Does anyone seriously believe his research or testing has been halted?" The South Koreans seem to be convinced the situation is working. They seem fully on board with this. The Japanese lowered their alert level in regards to North Korea. While I tend not to trust US Intelligence, as when they are not being political hacks and incompetent boobs we now learn that perhaps the rest of their time is spent being petty thieves who are lying, cheating, and stealing. I will have to listen to Mr. Pompeo's speech. Essentially this would leave little time or resources for any serious analysis of the threats facing America. I would tend to trust the South Korean and Japanese Intelligence services. They seem to believe the situation is improved. Regardless what I think of them personally they are the closest thing to "friends" we have in the region.
"The only reason he's stopped..." I'm sure you saw the article the editor linked to. South Korea is on a military buying spree. Such expenditures all else being equal should strengthen South Korea making them better able to resist a North Korean attack. Also, it allows us to lessen our "footprint." These things actually help relations with South Korea strengthening any alliance. Frankly, this one has been like a very bad marriage for decades. The nature of the relationship needed to change!!
The "buying him time" works both ways. With South Korea upgrading their military and stronger now than they were in late 2017 and allowing America breathing space to improve our military capabilities this just doesn't seem like a good move for someone who supposedly wants war. After all when you are strong relative to your enemy this is typically when you launch the attack if you are going to. The "time" has actually allowed South Korea to get stronger.
With all due respect sir, you are Aussie. Don't get me wrong I love Aussies!! I do see a problem though when foreigners "cheerlead" or "boo" on what America ought to do or not to do. As an Aussie, the heads of your loved ones aren't on the chopping block should things go awry. Millions of your citizens are not going to die or be maimed. It is Americans and South Koreans who are going to bear the brunt of such reprisals. As stated previously, it is my considered opinion we CANNOT go back to where were before. If it comes to this, I can only hope and pray that my government and military leaders have used this lull to properly prepare our military for the confrontation.
Poster
"fear for Trump that is not present for other US officials.'
They and the world should be very afraid of Trump as he is likely to create a world ending situation, on a whim.
Poster
You do know or perhaps should know that the Russians were actively assisting the Chinese and North Koreans during the Korean War
And if you think I make this up, check for the MIGS some of which were actively flown by Russian pilots, though we kept this low key to avoid enlarging the war
Bob,
Very respectfully the last sentence is simply repeated from Trump's critics and has simply been repeated verbatim and is taken as an article of faith now by many and by such critics. IMHO Trump is more stable and mentally balanced than any other US leaders. It seems unlikely as to stretch credibility to the breaking point that the North Korean leadership or their allies would allow for such a public meeting with someone they view as a loose cannon. In all likelihood they would want such a person out of office and would refuse any sort of dialogue with such a person.
As to who is most likely to create a world ending situation on a whim, very respectfully I would suggest that this is Trump's opponents. Several examples can be cited. 1.)The US under Obama foolishly and recklessly stumbled into the Ukrainian situation with no understanding of what they were doing and who they were supporting. 2.)The under Obama foolishly and recklessly called for an "Assad must go" when that clearly was not going to happen. 3.)The US foolishly and recklessly stumbled into Libya with no understanding of the situation and is unfortunately largely responsible for the massive chaos that has resulted. 4.)HRC stupidly likened to Putin to Hitler. This was an incredibly stupid thing to do!! Anyone who faced down the genuine article or who had relatives who did as most in Russia would have would clearly find such a statement not only inaccurate but deeply offensive. It's simply unbelievable that she would have said this in a public forum or had advisors who would not have said "hey wait a minute here!! Maybe this line is not such a good idea!!" 5.)When HRC was losing in the campaign she and her team concocted a Russian collusion myth that was picked up by media echo chamber and spread far and wide undercutting what had been a very careful diplomatic effort with regards to Russia. 6.)To me 4 and 5 suggest a mentally unstable individual who is surrounded by such people. IMHO such a person is unfit for leadership. 7.)After what those who had been directly involved referred to as what had been a very successful summit between Putin and Russia I recall the bizarre rant of John Brenan, a Trump opponent, accusing Trump of treason which further undermined relations with Russia to unspeakably low levels. Normally we consider it statesmanship to talk to powerful foreign leaders. John Brenan would not seem to be of sound mind. Such people seem far more dangerous to me than Trump and I could go on.
In contrast, Trump's record as an international business person whose organizations have had dealings with powerful personnel in China and Russia suggest a mentally stable person who knows how to work well with powerful people to achieve good results for those he represents be it the Trump organization, himself, or in the current case the American people.
I would suggest that the body of evidence suggests that it is Trump's opponents who are the ones most likely to create a "world ending situation on a whim." When the Russia collusion nonsense started, I likened these people to children playing with matches under the bed. I think I did so on this website. Frankly Trump seems to be our best hope of any "western" leader.
Anon,
I am aware of this. Thank you for the reply.:-) I would say it was probably a good idea to have kept this "low key." There was a time when we understood the value of diplomacy with powerful nations and people. Unfortunately, as one commenter on this site awhile back aptly put it, it has become "silly season" in American politics so that now even talking to the Russians is considered treason.
While I do appreciate your concerns about the Korean War, as with anything else, things are constantly changing so that none of these countries including our own are the same as they were in the early 1950s so very respectfully I am not sure how valid such comparisons are to our current situation. Obviously we do not trust blindly and we need to be ready for a fight should it be necessary. The lull here has allowed both us and South Korea to prepare.
Perhaps there is a third way that might be better than the current one or the previous one. When presented with the risks involved and almost no upside potential that the previous approach was yielding, I would consider the current situation to be a vast improvement.
With that said, as I meant to put into my reply to Mr. Huntley, the situation in Venezuela concerns me. Unfortunately this looks like another hare brained and ill thought scheme on the part of our government. Hopefully I am wrong. Maybe there are side deals in place with Russia and China in place where they will support us here in exchange for concessions on our part somewhere else. Maybe our new found "allies" will be enough to alter the situation enough that we might actually prevail. Trump is a smart and cagey leader the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime. (I'm almost 50.) Perhaps his guile will be the deciding factor allowing us to have a different outcome than that which would normally be expected.
Poster
Forgetting the social and political impacts of stupid actions that affect world opinion of many countries, including allies, Trump's tarrifs have cost Americans a lot of money while contributing very little, perhaps only $100 million, to the US government. Such are the actions of an imbalanced President. That idiocy can spill over to real wars if not controlled. Remember the nut case, Bush II and Iraq II, one of the worst Presidents and actions American history, since 1776.
https://fee.org/articles/trump-s-tariffs-cost-americans-19-billion-in-2018/
Bob,
To have allowed other countries to continue with the previous unbalanced against America trade policies was becoming suicidal for America and needed to be changed. The tariffs are one of the smartest moves ever made by a POTUS. Nevertheless I am concerned about the possibility of war. Essentially a number of other countries have been allowed to engage in a form of financial rape against America for decades. Sometimes when the person being raped says "STOP" the rapists will up their attacks on their victim. This could happen here. In which case, it is important to be prepared to properly represent our interests. So if another country wishes to initiate a war in order to try and maintain a situation that is not equitable to America I would say that it is them and not POTUS who are "imbalanced" and the end result of this will be on them.
What the other countries need to do is to negotiate in good faith. If they choose war to try and maintain an inequitable situation that is in their favor, the end result of this will be on them. I think Trump's insistence that America and Americans be treated as equals when such insistence has been absent for decades has many uncomfortable. In other words, America as their chump is what many are used to and not America as a nation insisting it be treated equitably.
Yes I do remember Iraq II, a case of bad intelligence combined with an ill thought out strategy once the decision was made and I think most people would agree that G W Bush was one of the worst presidents in US history if not the worst who never should have been elected. Frankly IMHO he was wasn't a bad person he just wasn't intellectually fit for that position.
Poster
If Bush was not intellectually fit, what will you say of Trump, a guy who never reads, refuses to show his grades (and taxes) and mangles every speech unless read from script, and even then, mucks it up...
Obama might have supported the rebels but then what is Trump doing but giving Syria to Iran and Russia (oh, right. forgot. that is ok for you)
Anon,
Who says he "never reads?" His critics perhaps and we take them at face value. Perhaps some people are confused. Very smart people often do read and digest information very quickly. To those who are not as smart it may appear as though they never read. Also, in many cases such smart people have already fully digested the issue at hand, already found the solution, and moved onto the next issue before those who aren't as smart have even figured out there is a problem. To such people, the smarter person can oftentimes appear as though they are unfocused. I suspect many this is the situation with many of the critics.
As for his grades, I had college professors when I was in college who explained "the A students come back and teach. The C students come back and give donations." While college grades can tell us something, they simply aren't as important as some might make them out to be. College courses are often structured along the lines of "listen to professor, memorize what professor said, and regurgitate in a materially similar format to how professor presented it." While listening, memorizing, being able to recall what one has learned, and repeating when necessary are important traits. People who build and problem solve may not do as well at these things or they are far to focused on something more important. As such, I am not particularly worried about what a college transcript says. I don't think it is worth much attention. For what is worth, the optimal GPA would be around 3.20 and someone who worked while going to school but I know people who had barely 2.0 GPAs who are quite wealthy.
As for his taxes, as a Certified Public Accountant I can pretty much assure you are not going to understand them even if the person who prepared it sat with you and spent three hours explaining it or more. As for the politicians who used their positions to become wealthy, not a chance they are going to be able to understand it. A better approach is going to be look at the assets, the expected cash generation from the assets, the liabilities associated with them, and determine what kind of cash flow they should generate and look at the value of the assets and the liabilities associated with them to determine net worth. As a public figure, all such information will be readily available. Furthermore it is possible to "cherry pick" pretty much anything that is complex. As such, if there was a problem with them they would have been leaked by now. This is why I don't think we have seen them. He is very rich, you wouldn't understand it, and to the extent that you would understand they would simply reveal he is very, very rich. Basically this probably isn't a winning issue for his opponents as it would only undercut the narratives they are trying to create.
Does he mangle his speeches? I have listened to a number of them and didn't pick up on that. Anyone who does allot of speeches, blogs allot, or does pretty much anything allot will blunder from time to time.
Anon,
You mentioned Syria. With the possible exception of the Kurds the "rebels" were a questionable lot to begin with. Many of them were ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other Islamic terrorists. Essentially we bumbled into this with unachievable policy of "Assad must go" and to make matters worse not even understanding just who we were supporting. As I patiently explained in 2011, the Russians simply were not going to allow Assad to be removed and other allies such as the Iranians would likely come in to assist him. Sure enough this is precisely what happened.
While we cannot always "know" the outcome of a different choice, we can infer based upon careful research and observation. For example everyone "know" or should know jumping head first onto the concrete below from a three story building isn't going to have a happy ending and so it goes in this situation. Had we stayed out, Assad likely wins in a few months, Syrian casualties are far less, the Russians don't get involved to the extent they have, and Iran largely stays out. Now stretching this out has battle hardened the Syrians and the Iranians as well as the Russians and entrenched them positions in Syria where especially Iran and their proxies can pose a greater threat to our most important ally Israel so no I'm not okay with the situation. As for Trump he has working on getting us out of this, has made good progress in this area, and the Kurds are now in a better position than they have ever been with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, and others backing them now.
Trump is winding down our operations in Syria, negotiations to end Afghanistan are ongoing, and enormous progress has been made with regards to North Korea. There is a strong possibility of ending three wars within the next year or so and no new ones have been entered into. This hardly looks to me like a president who is going to "create a world ending situation on a whim."
With that said the Venezuelan situation is a worrisome one. Maybe Trump guile can solve this, maybe there are quid pro quo deals with Russia and China at work here, or perhaps our "allies" such as Brazil may be enough to turn the situation to one that would be favorable to us. I hope and pray this is the case. IMHO we are dealing with a man with considerable more guile than any past US president this does give me some cause for optimism here. I pray this ends well for us.
Poster
The trade imbalance started long age when Regan knocked on China's door begging to do business. All the major corporations jumped on the bandwagon to get the cheap products they could sell at huge markup. Ten years ago Walmart bragged that they issued their new year orders for a trillion dollars worth of products from China. The trade imbalance started with Reagan and grew from there with the wealthiest in America reaping the profits. Now normal Americans, those who were the loses are paying the price, yet again. It won't change no matter the outcome of the trade embargoes. The people will end up paying more then they need to. Trump is acting like a businessman with supreme power and all know that Trump is not a businessman, but a conman.
Bob,
I think you are right about how it all started. Now Trump is working to correct the problem and is making good progress while much needs to be done. The regulatory reforms combined with tax cuts are having an enormous positive effect in all sectors of the US economy. As an added bonus, increased oil production in the US has the potential to complete alter the global power situation in America's favor.
"...and all know that Trump is not a businessman, but a conman." This is what his political opponents have told us. Given their poor track record and prior miscalculations on pretty much everything, I am extremely skeptical of anything they tell us at this point and there is substantial evidence to indicate that this analysis is not correct. Essentially the people making this claim have both an integrity and a credibility problem IMHO.
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