Posted on 10/13/2017 10:16:23 AM PDT by re_tail20
It's tempting to give into doom and gloom when we think of North Korea policy. The rapid advances in Pyongyang's weapons technology, coupled with its provocative propaganda about the supposedly impending devastation of America, are enough to make many lose hope for any solution to the current crisis.
President Trump, of course, plays a prominent role in that despair. Trump once offered a relatively optimistic view of how he'd deal with Kim Jong Un, whom he described as a “pretty smart cookie” he would be “honored” to meet. But Trump's sanguine mood about North Korea has apparently vanished. To him, Kim is no longer a naive kid but the nefarious, unstable “Rocket Man.”
In one tweet over the weekend, Trump suggested that negotiations with North Korea were useless. “Only one thing will work!” he said, vaguely and ominously. On Monday, he continued this line of reasoning in another tweet that attacked the economic incentives offered to North Korea under previous administrations. “Policy didn't work!” Trump proclaimed.
The most obvious successes of this new policy are the increased economic and diplomatic pressures being placed on North Korea. U.N. sanctions in particular are a big win for the United States, especially as they have at least some backing from Beijing and Moscow. We are seeing some of the effects of their actions every day: Four ships were banned from international ports Tuesday because of links to North Korean cargo, a move that was described as unprecedented by one U.N. official.
There are other signs of economic pressure at work. Countries such as Qatar and Kuwait have stopped renewing visas for North Korean workers, potentially cutting off another source of income. Countries such as Egypt and Sudan have faced economic pressure to break their own covert ties with Pyongyang. Several countries, such...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Not a hint of blame for 0 or Clintoon (or Bush).
Even during Clinton. North Korea was launching rockets over Japan into the ocean. Pretty sure that there have been exercises to intimidate NK for years as well. It’s only wrong to intimidate North Korea because Trump is the President.
Calling him “rocketman” was a good start.
Not being /s
Kicking the can down the road is fine until you run out of road. We’ve run out of road.
Targeting and telemetry data? That’s one thing you definitely want to get right.
I’m pretty sure that that the norks realize that they’re residing on a peninsula, with the bay of korea and yellow sea to the west, and the sea of japan to the east.
And all of that peninsula is within a few minutes of a total shitstorm of US Naval firepower.
“The most obvious successes of this new policy are...”
“There are other signs of economic pressure at work.”
Poor Adam Taylor, pounding the soup kitchen lines this morning. He broke WaPo Commandments #1-#20 in his article.
pocket rocket
“And all of that peninsula is within a few minutes of a total shitstorm of US Naval firepower.”
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The flip side of that coin is we have 30,000 Americans who are easily within Kim’s reach pretty dang quickly.
WOW.......is the WaPo finally getting their head out of their BEZOS?
That’s assuming that those 30,000 Americans are just going to sit around with their collective thumbs up their asses.
Yes, NK has all sorts of nasty artillery along the NK/SK border. And yes, if all hell breaks loose a lot of people will be caught in the middle.
To capitulate to a totalitarian madman is unacceptable.
Make the message to NK clear: Do something stupid, and we will wipe you off of the map, consequences be damned.
I concur. Let them strike first and then strike mercilessly. End of NK problem forever, and Russia & China will take notice as well. I’ll bet even the Middle East will start shaking in their collective boots.
And Kim theirs.
“That’s assuming that those 30,000 Americans are just going to sit around with their collective thumbs up their asses.”
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Think “Pearl Harbor”. Has nothing to do with the ability to retaliate in the aftermath.
“Make the message to NK clear: Do something stupid, and we will wipe you off of the map, consequences be damned.”
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I believe that’s what Trump is doing, making use of the carrot of Kim’s survival and the stick of the alternative.
Thanks for the links.
My pleasure!
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