Trump: Making North Korea Great Again

[Jayhawker Soule]

From CNN/Vinograd's Donald Trump briefing ...

The outcome of your meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore is not strengthening your position going into summit season in Europe because your counterparts think you're being played and are either unaware or unwilling to admit it.

Your hope that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons, missiles and technology was viewed as a pipe dream even before you met Kim in Singapore -- and with North Korea's latest round of name-calling, your interlocutors see you and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo foolishly driving down a boulevard of broken dreams.

With the "regrettable" breakdown in negotiations this weekend, North Korea has gone from talking about its "willingness to offer the US side time and opportunity" to criticizing our "unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization." The North Koreans are, consistent with previous patterns of behavior, balking at actually denuclearizing and blaming us for throwing negotiations off course.

With Secretary of State Pompeo taking the opposite tone and calling bilateral talks "productive," we assess that your peers think that we are so eager to declare victory that we're willing to ignore the insults and the North Korean's refusal to take concrete steps forward.​

Trump once again - and predictably - shows himself to be a braggadocious yet bungling fool.

 

[Mox]

 

[Twilight Hue]

Fake news?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Fake news?

ignore-list

 

[Twilight Hue]

ignore-list

 

[Epic Beard Man]

@Jayhawker Soule

It doesn't stop there brother I just turned on the news this morning only to see this.

 

[Father Heathen]

Fake news?

Ah, yes, the imbecilic slogan used as a knee-jerk reaction toward any unfavorable and unsavory revelations.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Ah, yes, the imbecilic slogan used as a knee-jerk reaction toward any unfavorable and unsavory revelations.

Well, time will tell.

 

[Father Heathen]

Well, time will tell.

A current examination already tells.

 

[Mox]

The North Koreans are, consistent with previous patterns of behavior, balking at actually denuclearizing and blaming us for throwing negotiations off course.

North Korea is highly unlikely to get rid of it's only bargaining chip, their weapon of mass diplomacy. The threat of probably being able to nuke either Seoul or Tokyo, despite the ballistic shield, is the means by which N Korea maintains everyone's complete attention.
The idiotic arrogance of Trump is clear, he recently somewhat ambiguously suggested that the USA and N Korea had signed agreements about a program of N Korean de nuclearisation, as if it was almost wrapped up, what they signed was in effect an agreement to discuss the issue, later.

 

[Stanyon]

From CNN/Vinograd's Donald Trump briefing ...

The outcome of your meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore is not strengthening your position going into summit season in Europe because your counterparts think you're being played and are either unaware or unwilling to admit it.

Your hope that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons, missiles and technology was viewed as a pipe dream even before you met Kim in Singapore -- and with North Korea's latest round of name-calling, your interlocutors see you and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo foolishly driving down a boulevard of broken dreams.

With the "regrettable" breakdown in negotiations this weekend, North Korea has gone from talking about its "willingness to offer the US side time and opportunity" to criticizing our "unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization." The North Koreans are, consistent with previous patterns of behavior, balking at actually denuclearizing and blaming us for throwing negotiations off course.

With Secretary of State Pompeo taking the opposite tone and calling bilateral talks "productive," we assess that your peers think that we are so eager to declare victory that we're willing to ignore the insults and the North Korean's refusal to take concrete steps forward.​

Trump once again - and predictably - shows himself to be a braggadocious yet bungling fool.

We have seen this flip flop several times already, will you post an article next week, tomorrow, or even next month if the situation changes again in the seeming positive? Probably not but that does not matter, what does matter is that there was at least an attempt at making the world a safer place and it seems to be faltering due to North Korea and at least for the moment we are back to square one. Whether one likes Trump or not I find it incredible that some would seem to celebrate a less safe world simply because they dislike the sitting president, it shows shallow partisanship and lack of vision of the overall picture and little care for how this might affect the future if it continues down this path.

 

[sun rise]

The DPRK has one gigantic bargaining chip - nukes and missiles. They would be utterly stupid to give them up without a gigantic quid-pro-quo. And by meeting Trump they send a message to their supporters in China that they are "being reasonable" so the Chinese will lift the pressure they had applied. And with the hope that the South Koreans will be more welcoming as well.

But anyone who thought that negotiations would be quick and easy is living in fantasy land. Even under the best circumstances with a decent President and a most skillful negotiator, it will take years including ignoring bellicose arm waving to get to a decent verifiable deal.

 

[sun rise]

We have seen this flip flop several times already, will you post an article next week, tomorrow, or even next month if the situation changes again in the seeming positive? Probably not but that does not matter, what does matter is that there was at least an attempt at making the world a safer place and it seems to be faltering due to North Korea and at least for the moment we are back to square one. Whether one likes Trump or not I find it incredible that some would seem to celebrate a less safe world simply because they dislike the sitting president, it shows shallow partisanship and lack of vision of the overall picture and little care for how this might affect the future if it continues down this path.

That's true but the current regime and the right wing ranted against previous Presidents who made "an attempt at making the world a safer place and it seems to be faltering due to North Korea". History is full of failed attempts.

This smacks of some who believe that they can insult, disparage, rant about the other side but can't take it when that kind of behavior is returned in kind and start whining about "civility" (which is from what I've read being fed by putin's propaganda.

 

[pearl]

Trump's assertion that N Korea is no longer a nuclear threat reminds me of George W's 'mission accomplished' and we're STILL there.

 

[Sunstone]

The fact Trump got taken for a ride means, among other things, that his decision to unilaterally end joint US/South Korean military exercises in exchange for nothing from the North will weaken allied preparedness for no good reason. Bad news for the US.

Beyond that, as the OP points out, Trump's ability to negotiate with our European allies suffers now from their perception that he's a fool. Bad news for the US.

All of that was preventable. Trump had only to learn from history to know that North Korea will play people in the same way they played him. But I don't suppose he pays attention to history. Bad news for the US.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

The fact Trump got taken for a ride means, among other things, that his decision to unilaterally end joint US/South Korean military exercises in exchange for nothing from the North will weaken allied preparedness for no good reason. Bad news for the US.

Beyond that, as the OP points out, Trump's ability to negotiate with our European allies suffers now from their perception that he's a fool. Bad news for the US.

All of that was preventable. Trump had only to learn from history to know that North Korea will play people in the same way they played him. But I don't suppose he pays attention to history. Bad news for the US.

Here is where it all went wrong: "Trump had only to learn..."

Alas, this is one of several things the trump seems to be 100% incapable of: Learning.

Anything. Anything at all-- he's simply incapable of this seemingly impossible feat.

Sad, really.

 

[Revoltingest]

Here is where it all went wrong: "Trump had only to learn..."

Alas, this is one of several things the trump seems to be 100% incapable of: Learning.

Anything. Anything at all-- he's simply incapable of this seemingly impossible feat.

Sad, really.

Even if we've stopped joint military exercises, it's still a bargaining point held in reserve
so long as there's still a strong military presence in S Korea. I've heard nothing about
withdrawal yet, other than news they're remaining stationed there for now. So both
Trump & KJU would know exercises could easily resume.
Ref....
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...in-korea-arent-packing-up-just-yet-heres-why/

 

[Mox]

Beyond that, as the OP points out, Trump's ability to negotiate with our European allies suffers now from their perception that he's a fool. Bad news for the US.

Worse still, particularly for the Balkan states in eastern europe, Trump has indicated he would place conditions upon honouring article 5 of the Nato treaty.

In short, he told the EU, including the UK, that the USA would only assist with the defence of Europe from Russian expansionism, if countries under attack, had spent enough money on defence.

This is the most alarming thing the EU has heard so far. Now they are not sure if the US is an ally or if in fact, worst case scenario, Trump is in collusion with Vladimir Putin. That between them the EU is in serious existential danger, and they may well have to seriously reconsider their defence spending next year.

Frankly as a brit and a father, I am appalled at the current state of affairs, brexit, Trump, Crimea/Ukraine, chemical weapon use, Isis and many other recent developments, these things have been a long time coming, but they are no less shocking,

The UK will stand with the EU, even though they are not happy with us, we wont abandon them to Russia, if Putin really believes he can invade european sovereign nations with impunity, whatever help Donald threatens to withdraw.

I think it unlikely, that Putin would risk invading europe, for one thing, despite the EU having a smaller military than the US. The combined defence spending of the EU far exceeds that of Russia. In fact the combined defence spending of the UK France and Germany is around $150 billion per annum, three of the twenty eight EU nations, comparatively Russia's is around $66 billion per annum.
Also the industrial capacity of the EU is greater than Russia's.
On paper, in a conventional war, the EU could outproduce Russia and defeat her or at least repell any invasion.