Tuesday, February 25, 2020

U.S., South Korea May Scale Back War Games Over Coronavirus Concerns





CNN: US and South Korea considering scaling back military exercises due to coronavirus concerns

The United States and South Korea are considering scaling back upcoming joint military exercises due to the coronavirus outbreak in the Korean Peninsula, according to US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

Esper said the US commander of US forces in Korea, Gen. Robert Abrams, and South Korea's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Park Han-ki, "are looking at scaling back the command post training due to concerns about the coronavirus."

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon alongside his South Korean counterpart, Minister of Defense Kyeong-doo Jeong, Esper said he is confident the US and South Korea will "remain fully ready to deal with any threats that we might face together."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There is also the issue on the lack of a funding deal between South Korea and the U.S. to pay for these exercises .... US wargames in South Korea might be scaled back over coronavirus fears – or lack of funding deal with Seoul (RT)

More News On Reports That The U.S. And South Korea May Scale Back War Games Over Coronavirus Concerns

Coronavirus threatens joint US-South Korea military exercises: reports -- The Hill
U.S., South Korea may scale back military training over coronavirus concerns -- Reuters
Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea Could Scale Back Joint Training Exercises -- Military.com
US and South Korea may scale back joint military exercises over coronavirus fears -- Military Times

12 comments:

Anonymous said...


'This could be bad': Top CDC doctor contradicts Trump and warns it's 'not a question of if but WHEN' coronavirus spreads in America, as she tells parents to prepare for school closures, tele-schooling and 'significant disruption in our lives'

Anonymous said...



I am going to buy on the dip and leave the Demcorat Dips all the poorer.

B.Poster said...

Knowing how the medical profession works tending to overstate a threat out of cautiousness I'd tend to go with Trump's assessment that this is under control in the US. Agreed, buy on the dip. Now's the time to buy!! The reality is there will be winners and losers from this. The US is positioned to be the biggest winner from this assuming we have the courage to stick with the course Trump has laid out.

Anonymous said...

CDC=science folks but Putin loving Poster says Trump knows more!!!
hope then it does not come to you in Texas, aka, Moscow

Anonymous said...



New analysis of government data shows that, since Donald Trump took office, inflation-adjusted income growth has slowed significantly across the U.S.

All but two states saw a decline in growth of real median household income under Trump – including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida, four states widely regarded as the key electoral battlegrounds that will likely determine the 2020 presidential election.

Middle-class incomes grew at a rate of 2.7 percent from 2016 through 2018, compared to a 5.8 percent growth rate from 2014 through 2016 when accounting for inflation.

Anonymous said...

Democrats have lost Florida. Done deal. Quit worrying

Wisconsin judging from recent elections is still in the Republican column.

You would think someone with wings would get out more.

Considering that it has taken NASA 15 years to develop or procure a new type of space capsule parachute and still do not have one, I would not trumpet "We work for the government and we are the smartest ones on the block."

Go on walkabout bird.

B.Poster said...

"Putin loving poster..." cute comment. Putin was not mentioned in this post. I'm not sure what your obsession with Russia and Putin actually is. This type of subject changing with the intention of distracting is the very definition of trolling.

Admittedly difficult concepts can be hard to put into talking points. I am going to try and make this as brief as I can. Hopefully you will understand this.

We will start with the perspective of the CDC official and compare and contrast to the position of POTUS. I know how the medical profession works as I have a great deal of indirect experience with it. They tend to err on the side of caution. For example, if something, such a COVID-19 outbreak in the US has a 2 to 5% chance of occurring, they are going to assume it will happen and plan accordingly. If they say it won't happen and they turn out to be wrong, they will be judged harshly and possibly be banned from their profession. If, on the other hand, their most dire predictions turn out to not materialize, its no cost to them to have gotten it wrong. As such, her statement doesn't entirely surprise me.

In contrast, POTUS is under a much larger and much more uncomfortable microscope than the CDC official is. As such, it is going to be virtually impossible for him to lie about anything. He also made his statement after consulting with CDC as he made clear in his remarks. As such, their private remarks are in line with the statement even if the public ones deviate for reasons explained above. Now, if POTUS, predicts the worst possible scenario and turns out to be wrong, he is going to be dismissed as a hysterical fear monger and would never be trusted by anyone again. If he states that the situation is under control and turns out to have lied and the worst case scenario does happen, he's likely impeached and sent to prison immediately.

In summary, different perspectives lead to different statements to the public. While we cannot always "know" what is happening without inside information in real time, we generally can make reasonable inferences based upon a careful study of the situation and our experience. Based upon what I believe to be a careful and rational analysis of this situation I concluded that the remarks by POTUS that is under control are likely correct.

"hope it does not come to you in, Texas, aka Moscow." I wouldn't wish this to come to anyone. While nothing is certain in life, the chances of an American getting this are extremely slim and the chances of dying even less. As for the accusations of me being from Moscow, I have provided ample evidence to prove this is not the case. If you wish to persist in that, you will need to provide evidence of this. Please stay on topic or don't waste time.

Anonymous said...

Yo! boft guy!
Trump waws in India...the CDC is here. Science...Trump can barely read English and you think he knows more...

Big Cuts to CDC, NIH in White House Budget Proposal

Anonymous said...

Not for sure B Poster, but I think you were responding to parrot.

Anonymous said...

Trump (unintelligible) in India...the CDC is here. Science.


" ... the CDC is here. Science."

Spoken like someone, who worships scientism and is functionally illiterate in the English language.


"Trump in India...the CDC is here. Science."

Great argument; great logic.

B.Poster said...

"Yo! boft guy!"

Are you addressing me? Very respectfully please read the actual post before commenting. I did not say Trump knows more about medicine than the CDC doctor. I did point out that the CDC official is very likely to overstate the actual threat, Trump's actual statement is more likely to be accurate than the one by the CDC official because he has no incentive to overstate the threat along with huge downside risks if he does, and I explain how I arrived at my conclusion. Please read the posts before commenting.

As for Trump barely being able to read English, this seemsu unlikely as a business person will have to be well versed in English. An international business person will not only need to be well versed in English the international business language but will need to have a strong understanding of various cultures and be able to interact well across multiple domains. The claim that he can barely read English seems invalid on its face.

"Trump was in India. The CDC is here." Due to modern technology officials are able to coordinate actions even though they may be physically in different places. As such, they are likely in constant communication. Physical locations won't make a difference. Besides Trump cited CDC when he made his statement further corroborating that the CDC and members of POTUS's team have been in communication throughout.

By doing the trip now tells us at least two things. 1.) Both he US and Indian governments don't believe this us going to be a serious mid to long range issue. Otherwise they wouldn't have conducted the meetings now. 2.) The Ibdian leadership expects Trump to be reelected or they wouldn't have had the meeting now preferring instead a wait and see approach until after the elections. Actions speak louder than words and the nature of the medical profession tends to cause them to overstate threats this lending more credence to the assertion that this situation is under control.

"Big cuts to CDC..." I have extensive experience dealing with governments and no they tend to be packed with non essential personnel. By cutting this the organization will be more effective. Additionally large organizations tend to be fat, slow, dumb, and ugly. By cutting the non essential personnel this will address this making it more likely we will be able to keep this situation under control.

Anonymous said...

Prediction.

The political hack of a CDC director steps down by end of the year.