Negotiations are not held in public, they must be based on realistic objectives and expectations, expert research on the merits of the options and absence of invective sure to cause excessive fear and loss of face on the other side. Nothing that a bit of open-mindedness, good advice, thorough preparation, duct-tape and thumb screws couldn't resolve.
1
When it comes to Trump, the glass is always half empty ,never half full in the pages of the august NYT.Have always admired Mr. KRISTOF for his willingness to go to dangerous places in the world where other journos would fear to tread, but his judgement,"comme d'habitude,"is off when writing about The Donald, and he is always crying wolf. Having known the author of "Don't Cry, WOLF,"GEOFFREY BOCCA,after he was admonished by the French police for writing pro OAS tracts during the "guerre d'Algerie"I know whereof I speak. Cancellation appears to me to be a negotiating tactic, and both sides have left the door open to negotiations down the line, so what's the big deal?Recall when liberal left was saying that TRUMP's chances of winning the election were slim to none."Il vous a eu, vous, les gens de gauche,n'est ce pas?"Try giving the c-in-c benefit of doubt for a change!Try being an "homme au grand coeur" for a change, instead of engaging in this knee jerk criticism which I read daily in Times newspaper.Other day editorial page contained 4 articles 3 of which were anti TRUMP!"Quand meme, il ne faut pas exaggerer" if you please!
1
Trumpy doesn't have a clue. Hasn't that become sorely apparent to anyone with even half a brain by now? Trumpy not only does not know what he's doing, he's certifiably psychotic. If Trumpy were ever examined by a real doctor, and a psychiatrist, all would be revealed, and it would shake our institutional rafters and tumble our walls. But Trumpy ain't gonna let that happen. Trumpy is most afraid of himself. He probably is somewhat aware that if he were to be able to face the truth about himself he would most like end it all. The massive inferiority complex Trumpy has been burdened with his entire life had been accumulating for over 70 years. Be forewarned. If this bona fide nut job should ever blow his fuse, God help US and the World.
DD
Manhattan
2
President Trump did the right thing. One can not negotiate with such people in good faith because "good-faith" never work with such people. As was proven again and again throughout human history, people like Kim Jong-un. Ali Khamenei , Saddam Hussein or Adolph Hitler do not change, Mr Kim Jong-un's "peace campaign" started as a result of economic suctions, pressure from Russia and China and fear that the President of the USA may really deliver on his threats (probably the Russian and Chinese told him so). After he and his father and grand father managed to deceive many USA presidents for so long he understood that he is facing now a different kind of president, a person who can handle a bully. Trump had to cancel the meeting as a response to the verbal attack on the Vice President not only to show Mr. Kim Jong-un that there is a bigger bully in the neighborhood but to sent a message to Iran as well. Don't worry Mr. Kristof, the Rocket Kid will come to negotiate and if Trump continues to stand-up to him he even may deliver.
2
It would perhaps have been better had Lyin' Donald not called Chairman Kim "Rocket Man" and "short and fat" from the beginning.
6
Kim Jong Un - 1, Donald Trump - 0. No surprise there.
4
The bungling buffoon known as Trump has once again shown exactly why he has no business being in the position he is. No sense of how or why diplomacy is important makes and will keep him as a failure when dealing in global matters. His eagerness to destroy accords reached before his time further imperils the world and may very well put is in a worse position than existed before them. I guess that is the price we pay for electing a vindictive narcissist real estate shyster to run the country. How many steps backwards must we take before realizing what a colossal error his election was?
8
In high school, this crude attempt to terminate a budding relationship first would be called a "Dear John Letter." Here is should be called a "Dear Jong Letter."
1
Pence was a guest of South Korea when he famously turned the other cheek to the North Korean delegation during his brief appearance during the Olympics. I suspect that was the sole purpose of this Pious Pence's trip, merely to make that snub shown around the world. He can wallow in his Evangelicalism clearly he forgot the true meaning of turning the other cheek. His penchant for obedience goes well beyond the football field.
Exceptionally bad manners and revealed the juvenile, hypocritical mentality that currently runs this country.
The idiotic Trump letter written, (perhaps by one of Trump's grandchildren?) is more of the many global embarassments and misdeeds of this administration.
The fact that letter and the withdrawal was released before notifying South Korea. is the utmost in carelessness and disregard for all nation's involved. This administration continues to tarnish the reputation of all Americans by their off the hip, casual, ignorant modis operandi. I cringe when Trump et al speak
160
Does every daily article and opinion piece about the President need include a photo of the man?
4
Why do I trust Nick's assesment of the actual situation with N Korea? Because he actually IS smart. When Mike Pompeo looks like the most level headed member of the administration you've got a problem. Kim's assesment of Pence was pretty much on the $$$ as far as I'm comcerned.
7
Where this is heading is that President Trump is going to order the destruction of the North Korean nuclear and missile programs. Along with this will come the "collateral" death by nuclear annihilation and other means of several million people, and the threat of all out nuclear war at the planetary level. He has the power to do it; what makes you think he won't use that power, especially as he becomes more desperate at the unfolding revelation of his domestic crimes?
7
A bloviator stages a peace stunt in order to get a medal from the Norwegians (because the guy in the other party got one). He sends his surrogate to tell the adversary that Bloviator has
no negotiating strategy, just big fat demands. He hints that the adversary will end up like Gaddafi. The adversary calls the surrogate a dummy. The bloviator pretends he's "hurt" by this "hostile talk." The stunt falls apart. You really need more details?
4
The worst of the worst swamp rat Bolton is behind every negative foreign policy (along with a few others) where he can get a word in. He should have been tried for treason and sent to Guantanamo during the Bush disaster he initiated as a follow up to scuttling Clinton's North Korea's negotiations.
Having Trump's ear relegates Lucifer to angelic heights as he fills that space.
5
If Trump’s ineptitude invites nuclear war with North Korea, he’ll blame the destruction of Los Angeles on Obama and Clinton.
5
Since Trump is President of the United States, the danger with regard to the North Korea negotiations is to America and Americans. Instead of to Trump and the Trump Organization.
2
Why in this day and age are we or anyone still playing these childish games?
Will the male leaders of our world, not theirs, please grow up?
2
DJT has managed, with his "superior negotiating and business skills," to pit South Korea and China against the US further putting the US in a position of weakness. The president, his VP and his administration are proving over and over again their ineptitude when it comes to foreign policy.
After the debacle of pulling out the Iran deal, and the comparison of North Korea to Libya, it is no wonder that Jung-un decided that the US was not a country to trust.
The fear we should have now is whether tRump will start a war because his feelings got hurt. His temperament has shown us that he cannot take criticism in the slightest and that he truly believes that everyone is out to get him.
The US can ill afford to get into another war because of a perceived slight and revenge.
5
To ensure that Trump and Kim do not let their egos overtake, and therefore cause a catastrophe for all humankind, they should be made to watch over and over again the videos/pictures from Hiroshima until they get the point. They, along with any so-called "leaders" of nations have no right to take actions that destroy whole areas of the world, let alone possibly all of humankind on this Planet we call home. The world populations need to stop this insane thinking of brinkmanship. We are all tired of it, and it no longer has any role to play in any society at any time. Those days are over, and We The People of the Earth need to stand up and develop means to relieve leaders who persist in this type of thinking. Enough already. In our own case, the Elections taking place later this year should be a referendum on such thinking, and vote out any person in power who continues to think "might makes right."
1
Seriously, I guarantee narcissistic Trump would start a nuclear war if he felt it would distract from his being impeached. Of course. he'd make sure he and his family have a gold-plated bomb shelter with a year's supply of Bigly Macs and Twitter-feeds.
2
As I explained in my Revolution of Reason, it will take desperate times for humans to finally take a look at their ridiculous belief systems; and, with the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea and Trump being advised by John Bolton, we are fast approaching desperate times.
It has become imperative that we build the computer model of the human mind now to show us how we think and how we have subverted the human survival program with our beliefs and manufactured values - how we have tricked the mind about exactly what is supposed to survive.
Even with the irrefutable proof to be provided by the computer model of the human mind, it will take time for us to quit our mischief; so it is imperative that this model be built now. The world literally depends upon it.
See:
RevolutionOfReason.com
TheRogueRevolutionist.com
1
Nuclear weapons are not precision weapons. They generate huge clouds of radioactive debris. These clouds drift..... back to the US (as Japanese nuclear power plant failures demonstrated).
So, consider buying potassium iodide tablets.
2
Oh, please! First, Trump dances in the end zone before he even stepped foot on the actual playing field. Classic Trump, all brag and nothing to brag about. Then, he realizes that it all might be a bit more complex - and potentially embarrassing (Kim stopped the flattery) - to go ahead with it, so he cuts and runs while, naturally, blaming Kim. Put this toddler down for a nap before he breaks something!
The Peace Prize, if there is any for this mess, should go to Moon who is actually doing the tough work of trying to get two blowhards to think rationally.
7
Ever since the start of the Cold War, the imagery of a summit meeting has often outweighed the significance of any agreement between the two sides. The photograph of two leaders smiling and shaking hands was enough to reassure people that the danger of conflict was forestalled. For both Kim and Trump, this meeting was all about ego. But, Trump began to understand that if the meeting did not result in North Korea's complete nuclear disarmament, an increasingly unlikely outcome, Kim would be seen as the "winner" of the meeting.
Trump will probably claim he now deserves the Noble Peace Prize for cancelling the meeting and threatening North Korea again with nuclear annihilation.
The North Koreans have been masters at world PR. Witness the fact that they invited us to witness the destruction one of their atomic test sites; whether it really was or wasn't is of no consequence: it was a good show. Maybe the POTUS decided not to climb the mountain because he was ill-prepared to do so because he doesn't rely on his Department of State but only on his gut and his right-wing advisers. Of course, who needs a State Department anyway?
1
Bolton's initial comment about the "Libya Model" may have been made somewhat in error (he was new on the job). But then the administration realized that they could weasel their way out of the summit by having Pence double down on the Libya analogy, thus really ticking off NK.
1
Trump was probably afraid that he would get played in a meeting with Kim. He apparently spent more time railing about some spying of his campaign than he did in preparation for a summit meeting. Trump really doesn't get it and is causing great harm to the American democracy.
1
So we're back to the "dangerous" Trump from the *too eager* Trump? One could get whiplash following the logic of Trump's critics. Why not take a breather and gain some perspective? Then get back to us with some rational thinking versus overreactive and volatile responses. If ever there was a time to take your own advice on your unhealthy fixation with Trump, this is it.
3
Many NYT readers need a daily dose of anti-Trump and VERY pro-Establishment rhetoric in hopes their nightmare will soon be over and they can all go back to sleep!
2
Trump needs to put a lock on John Bolton's mouth and Mike Pence's echoing of the Bolton line. Diplomacy cannot start when the advisers engage in bellicosity and swaggering statements before the diplomacy has begun, but Bolton was successful in undermining any chance of diplomacy with his threats and demands and saber rattling of military conquering North Korea. If that was Bolton's goal, he needs to be fired. Trump probably liked Bolton's hot headed demands, but Bolton has now succeeded in undermining diplomacy in favor of jingoism.
2
What puts world peace at greater risk: Trump "negotiating" for the United States or him rejecting the Kim summit? And Mr Kristof suggests we should somehow favor Trump representing American interests? And as for Pence being a "dummy," political or otherwise, you don't have to be from North Korea to think as much. The real threats to are as much right here as they are in Pyongyang.
In Trump's transactional mind he continues to win the day. By trumping Kim in canceling the summit, he got the headline he wanted for today. That's how he thinks. Not about us. The S.Koreans. The Japanese. He jumped on the summit initiated by the diplomacy of Moon, accepted to meet without any consultation or preparation so that the headline that he has gone beyond Clinton, Obama, and Bush as a negotiator with a rogue nation would replace "Stormy Weather" headlines. Yesterday he wagged the dog by mentioning the might of America. In all these decades I've never really feared a N. Korean invasion of S. Korea, or more recently a nuclear attack by Kim. I fear Trump. When a despot, like Trump makes it all about him, one cannot dismiss that Trump is the loose cannon who disturbs this tenuous peace.
3
We are witnessing NEGATIONS IN PROGRESS, Trump style.
The looney Left is completely lost.
They will meet and North Korea will give up their nuclear weapons.
1
If the situation deteriorates, the American people will have to decide how much of a stomach they have for burying their children, friends, and neighbors. It will hit home in a more profound way than the trickle of honoring those killed overseas we have now. And Monday- Thursday we will be told via Twitter how great a sacrifice that have made. While we watch Trump head to play golf every weekend. Neither he nor many in his orbit, save Mr. Kelly, will feel any loss. But he's thinking of you, big time.
The one variable not mentioned here that is in fact the only one that matters is China. It would not be too gross an assumption to believe that in their recent meeting Kim and Xi moved back to Mao's formulation that China and North Korea are likes lips and teeth.
Equally, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that Xi told Kim that if the US attacks that China will intervene forcefully; and I can also only believe that in the event that Kim provokes the US into a "bloody nose" attack Xi will become the great peacemaker (who also carries a very big stick).
But in all this let us be realistic: nobody wants the Korean "war" to end. Yes, the nukes are a problem, but everyone knows that the US will get over it as it did with China and the USSR, and India, and Pakistan and Israel... But what neither China nor the US will accept is either side having the entire Korean peninsula in its envelope of power.
China doesn't want a united, American allied Korea; the US must surely know that if they remove the troops from the South that China will have "salami sliced" power away from the US in Asia, making Japan the next target.
Pence was a guest of South Korea when he famously turned the other cheek towards the North Korean delegation during his brief visit to the Olympics which I assume was the sole purpose of his attendance. Exceptionally poor manners,
1
What is the point of this article? Celebrating Trump's failure? Making fun of anyone who believed him to bring peace to the Korean peninsula?
It is nothing but a long version of "I told you so; Trump is not trustworthy."
What I am seeing is an odd scene where so-called peace-loving liberals and hawkish conservatives were both showing strong skepticism about the summit and saying "I told you so, " after the cancellation of the planned summit.
I am also truly offended to see Mr. Kristof using "flattering" for the South Korean president Mr. Moon's dealing with Kim and Trump. The word, "flattering," implies deception and lie. So using "flattering "for Mr. Moon's diplomatic gesture is an insinuated insult. What Mr. Moon did is genuine recognition and polite encouragement of Trump's and Kim's efforts and decisions over the meeting last 4 months while NY times columnists were showing sneering skepticism over the summit for the sake of Trump bashing.
Please put aside Trump hate and place a much much bigger agenda such as ending the Korean War on your table.
1
Losing Los Angeles won’t hurt Trumps re-election.
This is just a continuation of the same impulsive, chaotic way of managing that Trump has practiced since he began wearing a president's suit. And it's the same management style we can expect until he leaves office.
For those feeling optimistic about the summit remind yourself who the two negotiators are. There's Kim Jong Un, personal fan of Dennis Rodman, author of his brother's murder, the man who shot a ballistic missile over Japan. And then there's the real estate developer, TV personality, and bone spur draft dodger sitting across from the man he called "Little Rocket Man". Oh, then we have a secretary of state with a few weeks of experience assisting.
The situation with Donald Trump has not and is not going to change......Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States and the world as a whole. You can spin it any way you want to but it doesn't change the fact that Donald Trump is a severe narcissist who has his own agenda. As James Comey said in an interview, Trump seems to be constantly trying to fill an infinite source of emptiness within himself. Trump is capable of anything and everything depending on which way the wind blows.
2
My fear is that for trump this is an international humiliation and that his response won't have anything to do with America or diplomacy, he will respond to the perceived personal attack, Kim was much smarter,he exposed how unprepared trump was and still is,and the knee jerk response will be to finally show him that his button is definitely bigger than Kim , it is all about egos and dangerous for the world.
1
Trump did the impossible. He actually made the North Korean leadership look like elder statesmen, and made himself look impotent. Not a good look for him. I fear Trump will now think he has something to prove. And as we all know, that is when his behavior is the most rash and dangerous.
2
The combination of today's nuclear arsenals and the United States being "led" by an ignorant and reckless buffoon poses a daily risk to the lives and futures of each of us, and of all of our children. The first factor is difficult to address, although it is critical to do so. The second we could address tomorrow, with the required strength of character and will of the rest of our leaders, particularly those of the Republican Party
3
Electing Trump effectively put an emotional child-man in the White House. Flanking him with Bolton and Pompeo loaded the gun Trump uses to threaten North Korea. The child-man has no understanding of the damage the weapon may do, nor does he seem to care. He may even believe that it’s unloaded as he points and threatens others.
The problem with the North Korean situation is that the gun is loaded and will also explode if fired. There are no winners in nuclear war, not even the survivors.
2
Since we're not allowed to comment on the "think millitary strikes..." article above, I'll address it here.
Can military strikes end the NK threat? In my view, it can but only in one way, and that is an all out assult using tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. He'd have to use the tactical nukes to annihilate the artillary aimed at SK, he'd use others to take out key installations, but he'd have to use strategic nukes to take out cities and guarantee a loss of command and control. He'd have to demand that SK and China take in any and all refugees.
There's no bloody nose scenerio here. Kim might manage to fire off a prototype and take out a few thousand people here or there.
Of course, this is a nightmare scenario, because it opens the gate to useing nukes preemptively. It would have to be followed by a full-scale UN attempt to eliminate all nukes, which is something Trump couldn't lead.
So is it possible? If it happened towards the end of his 4-year term, leaving the diplomacy to the next admin, yes.
Highly, highly unlikely though. There's no way to plan out what's going to happen here. It's about as predictable as the next mass school shooting.
Trump, the puppet master of confusion and diversion. The deal maker, he is not. The deal maker thing only exists in his head and he keeps telling everyone who will listen, that he is the best at it. To truly make a deal one has to possess a basic set of facts and understanding of the topic. Trump does not have any interest in mastering the intricacies of a negotiation of this magnitude. The reason he cancelled this meeting with NK is because he can now have us all talking about the threat of NK instead of the tsunami of investigations swirling around him.
To President Trump I’ll just say wise up and reboot—get back to the bargaining table with Kim Jong Un. Remember Mr. president this is North Korea not North Carolina your dealing with.
Don’t see this as some generic photo-op with dignitaries and extravagent pomp and circumstance, you have a real chance to make the world a better place with less risk of nuclear war.
Maintaining our Boot in the Korean peninsula has been lucrative business for the Defense sector for 60+ years. Its time to bring our 35,000 troops home!
I hope that the people of the two Koreas can be reunified and the regional countries can achieve a peace despite the 'foreign presence'.
1
Over the top rhetoric from the DPRK? Perhaps you missed Pence's attempt to deep-six these negotiations. The letter from the Foreign Minister of the DPRK could not be more conciliatory. You therefore miss the point. The US keeps talkng about Libya and that is a non-starter for a number of reasons. Imagine, if you will, that a country suggested to the US that we give up all our nukes and used as its model a deal that ended up with an overthrow of our government. Would we rush to accept that, especially if the other country had spent the last 18 months reneging on its other promises?
Kristof, who is dreadful on the subject of America's poor, needs to get over the notion that Kim is a lunatic. He is not. He is a canny, ruthless dictator who actually wants some kind of deal. Most of all, he wants to survive. If you were him, would you trust Mr. Trump? Mr. Trump has not held up his end of a bargain for two decades.
So, scrap this article and start again.
43
On March 8 Trump announced that he would be meeting with Kim.
On May 10 he announced that he would be meeting with Kim in Singapore on June 10. Yesterday , May 23 , Trump wrote to Kim that he was disappointed that he, Trump, had to cancel their "long planned meeting". Three months hardly seems like "long planned" ( or well planned).
With the letter Trump retreats to his universe with its own laws of time and place. Trump rushed and his desperation was played beautifully by Kim and Xi . Moon learned the hard way not to trust Trump.
2
I’ve heard that, when negotiating, it is best to meet the other side as equals eye-to-eye. Trump seems just the man for the job.
NK never wanted a meeting with Trump. They wanted dialogue with South Korea and to give China diplomatic cover to un-enforce sanctions. Kim knew what he was doing the whole time and every action has been calculated to make him appear a reasonable party that could be bargained with.
The breakdown of talks was inevitable as America discovered reality; NK will never denuclearize because they grant Kim legitimacy within his own fiefdom and secure his power structure.
Two points:
1. Trump said that in the event of US military operations S. Korea and Japan will pay the cost. Kind of like Mexico will pay for the wall. It's good to know that there won't be any financial coat to the US. I wonder if Japan and S. Korea are aware of this development?
2. Last week Trump supporters were saying that liberals would not give Trump credit for his extraordinary accomplishment regarding the meeting with N. Korea. This week Trump supporters are saying that liberals are not giving Trump credit for his extraordinary accomplishment of cancelling the meeting with N. Korea.
Trump supporters are prone to looking at Trump through rose colored glasses.
1
What if the South Korean president isn't the good faith actor as is being assumed? It is possible that he is overplaying the commitment to concessions on both sides in order to get them into a room in hopes that any agreement would be struck rather than none. Also, we may be at the point, often suggested by Scott Adams, that the Chinese need to be pressurized by taking down one of their large banks that is still doing business with North Korea in violation of the sanctions.
1
It looks Trump had never realized what he would have to do and gradually noticed through Kim's harsh rhetoric what he could achieve in Singapore, shaking hands and stating mutual vague goals. I really hoped he would be satisfied with this and defer the serious business to an apt president later. As far as there is no war there is always a future.
1
Time will tell. President Trump has a way of getting things done. Strong leadership, in dealing with other leaders of the World, Has shown an ability to build a frank relationship with each and getting them to talk,and hopefully end up getting all working together.
1
"President Trump has a way of getting things done." I suspect this is why his critics are so quick to prove he's failed at everything.
Trump has the rare talent to make any reasonable person despise him. His only supporters are evangelicals, not known for deep thinking.
1
yep, just as he and his brilliant Jared have solved the middle East. with Americans like you and trump, who needs a circus?
This trumped up Korean threat that has supposedly just gotten more dangerous is more sensationalism than bonafide journalism, and is used by the media mainly as a diversionary tactic. The real threats that face this country are not being addressed, instead we are kept busy with this nuclear drama and stories of Russian meddling that supposedly ruined our election. The people know better and voted out the meddled with political establishment in the last election. The present worldwide awakening is at the point where these revolutionary changes that now fill our Air will begin to take form, a process that the media, even with all their tricks, will not be able to stem.
1
If you think nuclear conflagration—deliberate or just accidental—especially with a halfwitted chaos agent in control of our country’s launch codes, is a remote threat, you are either willfully ignorant or insane.
2
From the time that Walter Stoessel, a diplomat's diplomat, broached Nixon's coming to China to Chinese diplomats in Poland to the time that Nixon actually arrived in China, in 1972, two years elapsed: two years of intense, professional diplomacy on many levels. And Trump thinks he could make a deal with North Korea in a few weeks?
Fake negotiations.
12
As inept and inexperienced a world negotiator Trump is , Bolton is as deliberately confrontational . None of this would have happened if McMaster was there . But I guess McMaster was too smart and too honest for Trump .
Bolton is VERY dangerous and I fear for the security of our nation and the world. He has absolutely no diplomatic skills and clearly this incident is his doing , resulting in the summit’s undoing .
14
Thought Trump was here to make America Great Again? Guess he's more focused on appeasing Asian authoritarians like North Korea and China. Feeling the love yet, Trump Country USA?
4
Nick, you cannot engage in brain surgery while wearing boxing gloves, and that is Trump’s only M.O. Thuggery and threats, broad and clumsy. The best we can hope for is somehow Moon, Xi, and Abe can short circuit this bullying and posturing before it turns into a shooting war.
Insanely, Kim is the saner and more rational (and smarter) actor in this deadly and unnecessary duet.
8
Ignorance seems to reign. North Korea has always been prepared to accept a nuke free peninsula (esp. before they had them) if the U.S. would remove its nukes and soldiers first and give a guarantee that it would not force the regime out. Trump apparently appeared to be offering just that, when Bolton said we should treat NK like Libya--that is promise to leave them alone if they gave up the nuke dream, and then later, get rid of them. Additionally, Trump pulled the U.S. out of its promise in Iran providing proof that Bolton's comment wasn't just hot talk. And finally Pence repeated the Libya rhetoric making sure that the already paranoid NK leader would not actually go for it. Looks like when faced with a diplomatic solution, T et al got the chills and decided to heat things up again.
1
North Korea's ultimate goal is to dominate and change SK into a totalitarian regime. They don't want peace. They never did. They are using the nuclear bomb to strike a deal with the US so that it will leave the Korean Peninsula. Once the US leaves it's time for South Koreans to escape ASAP.
1
OH GREAT; Just what the whole world needs...two lunatics playing nuclear chicken with the rest of humanity standing by and being held hostage to a potential catastrophic nightmare where God knows how many could be killed just to satisfy the two egomaniacs neurosis. Will it happen; probably not. But then again with the fact Trump feels he must do something to keep Mueller and Impeachment at bay; why not start a war. Think he would not do it? You are betting the lives of your children and beyond. This is no joke; nothing either of these fools would resort to would surprise me.
11
Let's be honest, North Korea would never launch a first strike. This idea that the US and its allies are in danger is just typical US warrior hyperbole. More fear mongering by the US military industrial complex. The US is the only country to use nuclear weapons against a civilian population. Now Trump is talking about upping our nuclear arsenal while denouncing anyone else from acquiring nuclear weapons. The US can destroy any nation it so desires both militarily and economically. Trump himself said if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons Trump and the US would make North Korea rich. No wonder the North Korean government wrote nasty comments. Anyone who negotiates with Trump becomes a loser big time. I threw up when Trump's sycophants chanted "Nobel Prize." Now I know the world is an insane asylum.
6
This is NONSENSE. mister KRISTOF, have you lost Common Sense or you never had it in first place!!! Nothing is lost, it was expected few weeks ago when N.Korea announced they were not giving up Nuclear arsenal.
Their nuclear testing site was destroyed by last test which went beyond their expectation, its director was executed, and there is no $$$ to build a new one. Kim used the destroyed facility for propaganda staging it demolition in front of reporters, excluding South Korean journalists. How could any president talk to this dishonest man?
2
Yes, it does have the stench of the media claiming Trump called immigrants "animals" and democrats' coming to MS-13 gang members' defense. Defending the indefensible just to make Trump look badly.
This president's deeply profound ignorance of the geopolitical repercussions of his words is indeed placing the US in danger as reported in today's TASS, Moscow's official news agency. "US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the Singapore summit with North Korea is a serious blow to the process of peaceful settlement in the region and the global stability in general", said Russian Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev. "Trump’s refusal to hold a US-North Korean summit is undoubtedly a serious blow to the process of peaceful settlement in the region, as well as the second blow to the global stability following the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal."
He called the president's justification for his decision "totally ridiculous." "If a country’s foreign policy is based on personal feelings and grudges, it exposes incompetence," Kosachev noted.
Imagine Trump trying for another "Nobel worthy" summit with Russia when they know so well how he ignorantly and ineffectually negotiates a version of diplomacy based upon his inflated ego and erratic behavior? Yes, Trump's relationship with Kim Jong Un has become more dangerous but it has also put the rest of the region in a more perilous place. Just ask the Russians.
1
To assume that North Korea poses a threat to the United States, you must first assume that North Korea has one or more nuclear warheads that have been miniaturized to be fitted on an ICBM which requires the knowledge of some sophisticated technology. One can argue that They have got this technology courtesy of Uncle Xi of China! This assumes that China is not worried about having a highly sophisticated nuclear power across the border. Second, you have to assume that North Korea has an ICBM that could deliver the nucear warhead to someplace in the United States. Third, you must assume that the people who are running the state of North Korea are a bunch of suicidal maniacs who get a high from lobbing nuclear armed ICBM's at other nuclear powers that have a 100 times more warheads than they do with every means of delivering them to North Korea be it from the sea, the under sea, the air and the land. Somehow, in that calculations, you must assume that the North Korean Leader is sure that the United States will not retaliate with thei own nuclear attack on North Korea so that Kim Jung Un can live to be 80 years old. No doubt, the Government will assure us that they have a boat load of evidence that proves North Korea has the capability of hitting the US (just as they had evidence about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction). As for the wackiness of the Leader, well, I guess if the US can have Donald Trump, surely North Korea could have a crazy, too. You are welcome to believe them.
1
Remember Doctor Strangelove?
“I am not saying we won’t get our hair mussed up. We’ll lose only 20 million Americans, 30 million tops”.
2
Simply a return to status quo ante. The Trump adminstration finally got it that speaking to NK confers to them a status they do not deserve.
Kristof complains about diplomacy, yet our "diplomats" over the past 30 years have basically giving all these "rogue" nations nuclear weapons. Come on.
Nicholas Kristof didn't mention the US Ambassador to South Korea's role in all of this... oh right, because during this time Trump didn't bother to appoint one. Ignoring the State Department and leaving it understaffed has consequences.
11
Typically, these negotiations start at the mid-diplomatic level because the very idea of direct negotiations with the President of the United States is a big win for North Korea, and because the consequences of failure at the head-of-state level are far greater. Apparently, Trump was oblivious to both.
Here is why North Korea has already come out the winner: (a) North Korea can legitimately claim recognition, including for dismantling nuclear test site just as US canceled the negotiations; (b) NK has driven a wedge between South Korea and US; (3) US is now more dependent on China regarding NK, the latter in a stronger position to set the pace of future de-nuclearization, and to extract better terms on trade negotiation; (4) North Korea can re-ignite the missile program with gusto, and yet rightfully blame the US, given the idiocy of the 'Libyan model' analogy- Qadafi complied fully with US demands, yet US air power destroyed his regime, he and his son were killed, reminding NK at this most critical juncture that its only insurance for survival against US firepower, is nuclear capability. It is amateur hour at the White House.
2
Darn. I thought Mr. "Art of the Deal" had the Nobel nailed. I have a sneaking suspicion that the North actually canceled it because of us breaking the Iran deal. But to save face, "we canceled it."
Now we can have that big military parade Trump wants.
1
There is just as much chance of Kim turning over his nukes as trump turning over his taxes.
Ironically the "over-the-top rhetoric" by North Korean leaders about Pence are about the most truthful statements ever to come out of that country - ditto their comments about the trump a few months back.
North Korea, South Korea and China could easily exclude the USA and come up with their own peace plan - even if half baked to await Donald's replacement to finish cooking the deal to perfection - at least to a palatable level for all.
Trump is definitely not suicidal but he won't hesitate to destroy America and the world in its entirety to save his own skin. And the American people GAVE him the means to do so.
7
The game of chicken reference reminds me of Rebel Without a Cause. The burning question will be if one has the sense (and luck) to jump out of the car in time and if the other gets his jacket caught and ends up hurtling over the cliff - with all his unfortunate passengers.
2
A country that has nuclear capability has a built in protection. Any attack by a foreign power risks detonating a nuclear weapon, and starting a nuclear confrontation. Any country would be ill-advised to surrender that capability with the current administration who have demonstrated that their word means nothing.
Trump cancelled the meeting to prevent Kim from doing so.He is dimly aware that he's losing the edge in this particular 'Game of Thrones'. To be dumped by a minor league player like Kim would have been intolerable, hence the 'Dear John' tone in his letter.
Well, maybe there is some way for these two to get back together, but any meaningful outcome is unlikely. The East can see what Trump wants, and it is not to protect and defend anything except his own interests. Soon, there will be a bribe ( a la the Chinese investment in Indonesia) an inconclusive rapprochement that preserves the status quo while appearing to change it, and Trump will declare victory and move on.
2
This is a blow to Singapore's hotel industry.
6
How about that Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Trump?
3
Feeble minded diplomacy will not work with dictators. They only understand direct, unswerving standpoint. The free world message to these NK gangsters is clear ; give up your nuclear weapons or else. There is no more a 'never ending' horseplay in between.
1
That's the idea: The USAF option from 50,000 feet "down the chimney", so to speak.
If nothing else the pentagon (Military) has to keep churning out the plans. But, now, the Joint Chiefs have angst and have to endure a fool and dolt as the CIC. I wonder, if fleetingly, thoughts of a "Seven days in May"scenario have surfaced. Not because of disarmament by the sitting president, but because of a push the button mentality.
2
It maddens me that the USA should get involved in issues which should be seen as purely Asian.
Let's imagine this scenario for a moment: the USA decides to completely ignore North Korea. All sanctions are lifted, the Kim regime begins to thrive. Who cares. Life goes on. Kim doesn't feel threatened and doesn't feel the need to build nukes, and China easily keeps its vassal on a short leash. South Korea opens up more trade with North Korea and China, and the three regional partners work towards a peace deal, without interference from faraway foreign powers who understand neither the culture nor the history of the Korean people.
Tell me again, WHY the heck is the USA meddling in this matter thousands of miles from its coasts?
6
Some people have the sense that Kim was preparing to cancel the "summit" so Trump is trying to save some face and cancel it first.
Kind of like telling a boss, you can't fire me because I quit!
Or telling your wives you want divorces after they've caught you with other women and have lawyered up.
But if this is the case, Trump totally blew it by including this confusing, dotardly line to start the final paragraph:
"If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write."
6
From any perspective, this is the best opportunity for the arms industry and where Mr. Trump will place his fangs! To request that North Korea abandon nuclear weapons production then the United States should also. Congruence is needed in decisions.
1
How could Trump, ethically challenged son of a crooked real estate developer, think that he could outfox a ruthless despot, trained from birth to hold the reins of power by two generations of equally inhumane leaders, and schooled in the art of decieving and thwarting much better minds then his?
9
“ When you cite as a model a country whose leader ended up being executed by his own people, that’s not usually persuasive to another dictator.”
That pretty well sums it up.
2
Bolton won and Pompeo lost.
This has nothing to do with Trump. He listens to whoever is more around. This is currently Bolton, since Pompeo is outside of the WH and frequently outside of the country.
The only question is, where will war happen first, because happen it will.
This is all about cowards who have never worn the uniform playing with toy soldiers who have to follow orders, except the "toys" are made of flesh and blood.
It is all about the satisfaction of infantile dreams, proving that you are a "real man" by sending real men to their certain deaths.
6
And why isn't the denuclearization of North America somewhere on the table?
3
Are we grasping the horror lurking? Can we believe that because of a fool's ego, we're on the path to become the most dangerous nation on earth; more dangerous than Khrushev's Russia in 1963; more dangerous because unlike other nations we have as a leader a fool who has used brinksmanship to survive in his previous occupation and who has a followership that will believe anything he tells them. Next year, impeachment willl not be a matter of criminality, democracy or the rule of law. it will be a mattter of surviving the colossal mistake of the American electorate. .
8
This is so ridiculously predictable it's funny. If there is anything you can count on with trump it's failure to commit.
2
To be honest, I'd rather risk a civil war in this country with a military coup removing this lunatic unhinged president and his merry band of shoot 'em ups Bolton, Pompeo etc. from office then risk the lives of the entire planet in an escalating nuclear exchange!
I find it astounding and shameful that the likes of Republican leadership Ryan/McConnell can't find their voices to speak reason to getting control of a situation that fast feels like its starting to spin out of control!
9
Donald is far more of an intimidator than a negotiator much more suitable for building contractors. so far he's folded every time he's dealt with world leaders while thinking he's winning when they flatter him.
2
So, let’s summarize all the Trump foreign policy winning:
- North Korea nuke elimination, NO
- replace TPP, NO
- mideast peace deal, NO
- new nuke limits for Iran, NO
- new trade deal with China, NO
- renegotiate NAFTA, NO
- new climate accords, NO
So. much. winning......
16
With respect to Trump’s “handling” of the DPRK and China, I hope it’s now dawning on his supporters that this would-be “emperor” has no clothes.
1
History will sort this out, but the Iran model had to test North Korean nerves as well. Consider reaching deal, giving up the nukes and biological weapons and accept strict inspections. Comply for three years and the US pulls out and imposes sanctions, plus issues military threats for restarting nuclear enrichment programs.
Amid their worst fears the U.S. Secretary of State clarifies the new position, unconditional surrender complete with a wish list of a dozen items. The same man who told Kim make this deal and reap the benefits of economic prosperity. Floating the Libyan model was not a miscue by Bolton. Trump's letter to Kim admits as much.
Flynn lied to Pence and North Korea called him a dork. I guess Trump has grown more sensitive about Pence.
Trump is doing just what his voters chose him to do: Create chaos. Tear things up, blow things up, turn lies into truth and truth into conspiracies, make down look like up and loss look like winning. Will they get tired (and maybe a little scared) of getting what they wanted? Will they want a return to "politics as usual" or will their appetite for chaos and destruction, like a drug addiction, only grow and demand even more extreme behavior? We will get a clue in the midterms and another when the Mueller report is issued.
9
Most people don't realize this, but negotiating nuclear disarmament with desperate dictators of small communist countries is really complicated. Who knew?
4
This game of chicken courtesy in part of bernie and his followers who were obsessed on Clinton's emails but now say nothing if trump's family access to the federal government.
2
So our Chief Name Caller says he cancelled the summit because a North Korean insulted Mike Pence? Whose idea was it to threaten Kim with Khadaffi's fate? Pull out of the Iran deal? I could do a better job of setting up a Summit.
Upshot is that China has become stronger in an important way and the South Koreans will look to that country for policy and, hopefully, peacemaking. Just another example of how diminished we are in the world because of Trump.
8
Does anyone remember how frightening it was to so many of us when Trump was elected because the thought of his being in control of our nuclear capability was terrifying? Well, our fears are justified and this Korea issue is just one more example of how terrifying Trump is to our nation and the world. He is out of control, often psychotic, and there is nothing stopping him from creating an international emergency. Our nation is one temper tantrum away from annihilation.
6
North Korean has repeated come to agreements and has broken every single agreement including the unilateral nuclear disarming of S Korea. From Carter to Bush to Clinton to Obama, President after President have been misled while N. Korea has pushed forward its agenda. The US has provided clear guidance, recognition of the regime, no regime change, economic benefit for elimination of Nuclear capability. Period. Rather than simply positioning nuclear subs off of the peninsula, it is time for US to make clear the consequences of the Kim regime to both China and N. Korea. Time to bring back Nuclear weapons in the S. While symbolic, a combination of greater sanctions and clarity on what possessions of nuclear weapons must be understood
I think Trump having a summit with any leader, let alone a extremely hostile one, to be the very worst idea ever. I'd rather send Dennis Rodman who would likely be more prepared.
5
So all Trump has accomplished is to raise Kim's status on the world stage and push Kim more into the arms of Xi.
And, on another front, Trump has proven to China that we are no match in a trade war. At least not under our current leadership.
Oh well, at least China will try to stop Kim from attacking us. They don't want him damaging a country (us) they own.
So much winning...
4
I don't think Un is that foolish to start a war with USA that will end his regime and destroy his country. I am sure he knows what happened to Sadam and Gadhafi. That is the reason why he wanted to talk in the first place. I don't think he can manipulate Trump easily. It will be foolish on his part to go bellicose as before. Trump has nothing to loose and he is more than a match to Un to wage a war words. It is not going to be anything other than that. Trump will make a deal when the time come, ie. when Un is ready to denuclearize.
2
It's obvious what has happened. Trump was all excited to do what no one else has been able to do that he did not prepare, did not plan, and did not hold his tongue and spoiled any possible "deal". Then when N Korea started to question things said by the administration Trump became afraid Kim might cancel the summit and leave president Trump looking the fool. At that point the president decided to cancel first so as to hide his administrations incompetence in completing any pact much less a good one. So where do we go from here, to war? Probably
2
Trump, forever the bully and buffoon, is having frightening success with diverting media and constituent attention away from the tragic damage he is doing to so many crucial aspects of America. The North Korean conundrum is important. But what about Sinister Scott Pruit? Betsy Devoid/Devos? The ordained starvation of the State Dept? The suffocation of Health Care? The packing of courts with unbalanced right wing factions? On and on.
I am grateful that the NYTimes and some of the other decent and sane news voices bring much of the Trump vandalism to the fore. The sooner more of the media can quite gorging on North Korea and Mueller, the better. We must heighten the awareness of Trump's domestic destruction and we must solidify effective strategies to combat the damage. Mid terms are coming very soon!
Trump is, of course, not rational. I am actually fairly pleased that the summit did not take place, as the US would no doubt have ended up bankrupt with Donnie getting a walk, since this is how the great dealmaker normally works it. Don't know how that could possibly happen, just following history.
Dangerous? Dangerous for whom? It isn't dangerous for us.
I could not believe my eyes reading the cancellation letter to the chairman. Who wrote it? It seems amateurish at best and far from what one might consider diplomatic tone. This is not about reneging on a real estate contract, the audience happens to be the entire world, looking on with dread and disbelief. Please halt this Administration with your November vote.
6
I’m surprised that the New York Times hasn’t done a more thorough write up on the ‘what then’ aspect of this proposed summit (the type of question Obama routinely posed).
Let’s suppose that Trump somehow got KIm to get rid of all his nuclear weapons. What then? Would we not still have a flourising democracy south of the 38th parallel, and a brutal prison for roughly 25 million people north of it? — With all the artillery, million man army, and tunnels both known and unknown for Kim’s use if he ordered an attack?
Given that the Kim family has spent two thirds of a century building a fortress for their continuity in power, including most recently their nuclear weapons, the idea that Kim would now depend on the U.S. military for his safety is fatuous in the extreme.
With all respect to Mr. Kristof, the thought that the summit would have made the situation less dangerous is equally implausible. If anything, we are now safer because two mercurial leaders will not now be striving to look good to their respective peoples via achieving a dream that is all but impossible unless the tyrant were to give up his tyranny.
1
How is this a failure? Nothing has been lost. Trump made the right move to cancel and employed the right language in doing so. The public posturing IS part of the negotiation. Playing out right before our eyes. Trump's instinctive willingness to meet the guy directly was the right move. It still is. Next move, North Korea.
18
My concern is about extroverts and introverts. Extroverts jump in without a second thought, confident that the water is shallow. Introverts have to weigh their decision, and then will choose the situation that is safest. Is Kim an extrovert? Don't know. But Trump is the ultimate extrovert. This article notes how he abruptly jumped into the idea of a summit, creating new problems when he abruptly jumped out.
Now trump the extrovert reconsiders military options. Time to be afraid. Very afraid.
1
Let' start with how this will play in North Korea; guaranteed that the Korean Central news Agency is going to work overtime to create propaganda videos that will ready their people for all out war with the US. Next, North Korea will turn on South Korea, mainly because the US will build up troops, and arms, to counter a now growing North Korean threat. China and Russia will condemn this activity and probably start helping North Korea build up its war machine. The rest of the world will hold their collective breath waiting for a very short fuse to be lit.
Trump just played chicken, and might have just run over. He also may have just blew a big chance that presidents, since Eisenhower, have been been trying to do, try to bring peace to both North and South Korea. Trump's actions have set things back the the hight of the Cold War, as far as this situation is concerned.
Yes, in the past North Korea has not lived up to its promises, agreements and the like. But, this time it was different. This time they wanted a dialogue. This time they wanted to bring the nation back into international fold. Kim Jong-Un, unlike Kim il Song and Kim Jong-Il, has come to the realization the North Korean model is not sustainable. Any economist, when any common sense, has noted this fro years.
Anyone familiar with "Dr. Strangelove"? It looks what we have in charge, as the incompetents as they are portrayed in the book and the movie.
Goodbye Nobel Peace Prize; hello nuclear oblivion.
2
Mr.Trump's genius is his ability to crash treaties and leave partnerships.He has dropped out of the Climate Accord, left the Iran nuclear accord and early on refused to join the Trans Pacific Partnership.Of course he was never going to engage with North Korea.He has no ability to cooperate with other nations- soon the United States will have no friends or allies.Trump has no concept of an interconnected world.He lives in his own fantasy world.This is dangerous!
5
It is easier to take Trump criticisms seriously when you don't pile everything on - you make it sound as if DPRK was a cakewalk for everyone else.
Seriously? Did anyone, even the ever-sincere Mr. Kristof, honestly believe that the "summit" would proceed on schedule and without a hitch? This will be an on-again, off-again, chess match and international-media entertainment show, with the outcome a likely stalemate, for the next two years.
2
Why is it assumed that Trump has unilateral power to start a war? Whatever happened to Congress?
5
"whatever happened to Congress?" I guess you don't live in same country as I do. The US Congress is way too busy looking for spines.
6
Congress did not give authorization when trump sent missiles into Syria. Would he ask permission to attack North Korea?
2
Korea
Vietnam
Iraq
Afghanistan
2
"We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means."
No one knows. Not even he knows.
9
"President Trump topped a particularly inept diplomatic period by canceling his meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un."
How can you be certain that Trump canceled his meeting with Kim Jong Un and not the other way around? Probably Kim canceled the summit after receiving threats from Vice President Pence ( the Libya model)? In my opinion, Kim consulted the Chinese premier and then changed his mind. Kim made a wise decision not to proceed with the summit.
2
"The cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un creates a risk that the U.S. will revert to military options."
Mr. Trump has been checkmated. Mr. Kim played the game skillfully, while Mr. Trump moves were confused, with many mixed messages. After so much good-will shown by North Korea, whether they were genuine or not, the world would not accept a military attack on North Korea by the US.
I am not concerned about Mr. Trump's anger for being played so astutely by Mr. Kim. Remember Mr. Trump's tweet barring transgender individuals from the US military. What happened to that? Nothing! The fact is the US military does not listen to him. The grown-ups in the WH know quite well of Mr. Trump's temper-tantrum and are simply there to stand between him and any military action.
6
Please list the grown-ups in the WH. Thank you.
If North Korea's government can somehow get John Bolton fired, bravo to them. Bolton is a dangerous, unhinged guy with a 19th century cavalryman's mustache who appears to think that uncooperative sovereign countries in 2018 can be treated like recalcitrant Native American tribes--wiped out if necessary.
This annihilationist, exterminationist attitude among Americans like Bolton towards regimes that don't submit to domination by Washington is a HUGE problem. The year isn't 1868, and the entire world isn't akin to the western United States in that year.
15
Well put........a. good analogy..
1
If one can avoid getting caught up in all the pomp and buffoonery, this cancellation was arguably the best immediate outcome. You really don't want to see these two mercurial clowns sitting down to an open-ended discussion. That truly would be a recipe for disaster: highly personalized disagreement and animosity arising out of an unstructured face to face confrontation, leading to immediate angry actions.
The Kim and Trump Show has not been canceled. It's just not quite ready for prime time. It's been sent back to New Haven for refinement and more rehearsals. My suspicion is that this melodrama will be with us for some time to come. Despite all the static, Kim and Trump both need it to continue.
Trump left the door wide open to a future rescheduling of the summit. He has had a taste of the domestic political benefits of playing world statesman. He likes it and craves more. The quest for the Nobel prize has been deferred, not abandoned. Kim, for his part, will want to make enough overtures toward agreement to keep the military option indefinitely at bay. He will continue to talk to Moon about peace treaty details.
If these preliminary discussions can result in a workable agreement, Kim and Trump will ostentatiously meet at the end to confer a ceremonial blessing -- just like the big boys used to do. It's still a long shot, especially with hardliners like Bolton and Pompeo having Trump's ear. But the normal diplomatic sequence has been restored, and that's a good thing.
3
Trump is a cowardly screw-up {note to NYT: that is very civil language} but this cancelation has the fingerprints of Pence and Bolton all over it as they have totally played Trump to take the fall. At the time I wondered whether the presence of Pence at the Winter Olympics might be cover for contact with North Korea but now I suspect he was there to discourage that. While it was poor judgment on the president's part to agree to meet with the North Koreans he then permitted Bolton to insult them. From the North Korean perspective Bolton should have been executed with an anti-aircraft gun but Pence hastened to reinforce his comments. In most of the world the #2 and #3 figures in a government do not state a point of view unless at least tacitly the #1 has given a green light. Trump might have saved his summit by returning Bolton to some vile think-tank and sending Pence on a month-long inspection of Central African embassies but he has instead validated their comments and in the process aggravated the situation. In reality neither the president or Secretary of State Pomposity would convince North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons but we might have established a more tranquil environment for other negotiations. As the Times reported recently Pence appears to be moving ahead with a gradual displacement of Trump from effective management of the Republican Party, planning to blame midterm election losses on Trump and consolidating his own position for the 2020 election.
11
Ever since the day trump descended from his golden escalator he has lived in an echo chamber populated by toadies and sycophants. He disdains expertise and competence, favoring slavish “loyalty” and attack-dog tactics and mobster-style bullying.
Against a dynastic Asian culture that has centuries of refining the intricacies of negotiation and subtle influence as well as the ability to “know the enemy better than he knows himself”- trump didn’t even know what he didn’t know, nor would he listen to anyone who did.
It is “The Art of The Deal” vs “The Art of War”.
9
So, no Trump Tower Pyongyang then. No wonder he's upset.
7
Well, there is this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel
It is unfinished, and sits on an island in the Taedong River.
Trump missed some opportunities here. he could have taken over the hotel, a new ski resort, a new horse race and equestrian center and some other recent developments undertaken by the North Koreans. I understand the ski resort is a gem.
But, alas Trump would rather push the world to a level not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Another example of Trump poisoning the well.
Trump, his party, and his administration, have taken idiocy to new heights.
2
Sure, North Korea played Trump, but so did John Bolton, who single-handedly torpedoed the summit.
When Trump realizes Bolton has his own agenda, and it isn't in line with what DJT says he wants, there will be fireworks.
4
This has everything to do with Mr. Trump's need to deflect attention away from the investigations. Which seriously demonstrates his being unfit for office
4
The Art of the Deal, what a joke. The president didn't even get to the table.
Here's a good principle about deals: Is your word good? If not, don't expect much in the future.
1
Best guess is that he is doing this to deflect investigation of Russian interference in 2016. If he really gearing up to provoke a military conflict with North Korea so he can play generalissimo, the adults better step up.
Oh, come on. When Trump is talking is talking to Kim, everyone is saying it's pointless, Kim can't be trusted. Now when Trump cancels the summit, he's being criticized for not negotiating. I don't like Trump, but anyone who criticizes an action solely because the actor is Trump risks losing credibility. And the only risk of war is if Kim decides to start one.
The only reasonable approach is tough (or tougher) sanctions on N. Korea until they agree to intrusive inspections to truly verify total nuclear disarmament. No negotiation needed. If Kim doesn't like that, that's his problem.
"And the only risk of war is if Kim decides to start one."
John Bolton is perfectly capable of talking Trump into war"
"When Trump is talking is talking to Kim, everyone is saying it's pointless, Kim can't be trusted. Now when Trump cancels the summit, he's being criticized for not negotiating."
Trump was criticized for immediately agreeing to talks without the preceding diplomacy. And now he is pulling out after Bolton and Pence uttered ludicrous threats to North Korea. That's the ineptitude that's being criticized.
Donald has no clue what he is doing. First, he's gutted our State Department, he's not consulted with the e parts who could be of help. This was all showmanship.
Trump’s relationship with North Korea has merely entered the next stage of brinkmanship. Did anyone seriously think that he and Kim Jong-un were done with it? However, Kim really doesn’t have a fallback and Trump does. He can always just go back to Plan A, which was embargo. What can Kim do: launch a missile? I suppose if he’s as suicidal as some think he is, that’s an option; but the likelihood is extremely low. Trump, through backchannels, undoubtedly has informed the North Korean military that on launch of a missile from their territory, and despite any other efforts we take to disable the missile in flight, ALL our naval assets will be launching missiles against HIM; and unless he has hundreds of those weapons, that’s all she wrote.
Kim needs June 12 pretty desperately, and Trump certainly does not. However, my sense is that June 12 or thereabouts will get back on track. Trump’s pretty good at brinkmanship, particularly when playing an overwhelmingly powerful hand.
Nick shouldn’t essay global strategic engagement OR the stock market: he doesn’t have the stones for it.
1
It's pretty rich to see a Trumpist nattering about not having the stones, given Trump's caving to China and all.
Of course I may be being unfair. Quite possibly PResident Fallen Arches just took a $500 mil bribe to lay off the ballyhooed trade war, and remains the staunch braveheart of a man he's been since he was kicking old ladies out of their apartments.
7
There goes the Nobel Peace Prize.
5
The Sword of Damocles is now apt. Donald Trump now sits upon the throne of Dionysius. Above him is suspended the mighty sword, held aloft by one hair of a horses tail. And John Bolton stands nearby, playing with his scissors.
1
I wonder how much taxpayer money was wasted on the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un coins Trump had made for the big North Korean Summit?
3
Whatever happened to the West point/Harvard "genius" Mike Pompeo?
1
It is clear the Trump torpedoed the summit once he realized that Kim was winning the PR battle between them and did not intend to denuclearize, so he had Bolton and Pence wave the red flag of Libya.
He went into this thinking he could score a coup before the November elections and shore up his base. It did shore up the base who will likewise believe that Kim trashed the meeting.
So, Trump again put himself in a win-win situation and took the small win, not the large.
Meanwhile, we are sitting on a time bomb and China is increasing its influence in SE Asia. Trump cares nothing about long-term failures. He is only concerned with manipulating short-term gains and crafting a false narrative with himself always as hero.
He has no mandate. The majority of voters did not vote for him.
He has to turn that around before 2020, so he will do anything to win, small or large.
4
My fear is that trump is twice as crazy as Kim, and half as smart.
11
Hhhmmmm...Trump is cancelling the Summit because Kim Jong-un accurately described Mr. PENCE's foreign policy acumen. Seems kinda harsh....don't you think ??
3
Does it need repeating that this is why you have a State Department?
5
Oh how ridiculous....Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George Bush and Barack Obama got twisted, turned and humiliated by North Korea. Trump was exactly right...no more appeasement. Keep the hard hitting sanctions and bring N Korea to the table...on Trumps terms.
26
Another purveyor of alternative facts!
The only one of the five presidents mentioned who got played and made to look a fool by Kim was trump. The only one who bought Kim's flattery hook, line and sinker and responded by calling him "very honorable" was trump. Please stop! So much winning, I cannot take much more.
127
Nycpol, that's fine if you hold all the cards. Problem here is, Kim holds about three of the aces. trump is used to holding four - deal with me on my terms and maybe make some money, or go away - which works in the property development business. Diplomacy doesn't so he has no sense of it, so he doesn't think he needs it. Anyway, starving people is a lot more fun.
35
100% correct ! President Trump is right - after a third of a century, no more appeasement.
6
Trump demonstrates a level of incompetence that is unbelievable. He is showing zero ability to grow into this critical job. He’s going to uselessly get a lot of our young folks killed
6
If you read Time's scary scenario, you know that a lot of people might die. Millions. Congratulations to the fools who put Trump into office.
1
Wait, a month ago we progressives groused that the meeting had risks - now we are worried that it is canceled? Kim is on notice, and more well behaved than a few months ago.
May his behavior continue to improve, may the benefits of acting civilized occur to him more frequently.
Next up : Iran. Trump will GIVE them Nukes. After all, what's the worst that could happen ????? Thanks, GOP. November.
3
Both Kim and Trump have already gained from this ill-conceived gamble: Kim has been given extraordinary solicitude and de-facto nuclear-power recognition by the President of the US (something no previous president has been willing to do), while Trump has gotten back three US hostages being held by NK for no legitimate purpose other than to hold them for ransom.
The so-called destruction of the NK nuclear testing facility has little but symbolic value: the site was already badly damaged and probably unusable; NK may have a backup site already ready for use; and NK no longer has a strong need to conduct more nuclear detonations.
NK may need to conduct a few more missile tests, and maybe an atmospheric detonation over the Pacific (which would be an extraordinarily reckless event). Let's see whether this latest setback is used by NK as the pretext for more missile tests. If so, we're back to military brinksmanship, as Kristof suggests.
There is truly no non-military "solution" to this crisis, nor has there ever been one for decades. The only "solution" is to change the NK Regime, which requires war. Since such a catastrophic war is very difficult to justify, the only practical way forward is to try to continue to "manage" NK, but this is becoming increasing difficult and dangerous.
Sanctions won't work, because China won't play ball. IF NK conducts no more missile tests and IF NK does not begin to export nuclear technology or weapons, then PERHAPS we can muddle along.
Trump is so toxic even NK could smell it.
3
From all we’ve seen and heard from Trump over the campaign and first year in office, does anyone really seriously think that Trump really cares how foolish we say he looks to us? Talk about falling for an act. Letting your enemy think you think they’re smart is the first step to trouncing them, because then they start doing all kinds of dumb stuff to defeat themselves. Hubris is not a desirable quality, it just feels like it.
2
John Bolton's finger is behind all these.
Now add Iran into the mix. WW III.
Bolton knows how to play Trump. He used the same technique on George W. Bush.
1
I suspect Trump will tariff cars from South Korea as a way to punish President Moon for the incompetence of Bolton and Pence.
Dear New York Times and lovely readers, I have been predicting this for quite some time,now.
It's tacky to say I told you so, but I did. I'm not sure what to do with that, since this is nothing overwhich I should gloat.
Faced with the inevidablilities of the Mueller investigation, Trump knew his end game was war with North Korea. Now that Bolton is infecting his already infected mind, Trump is truly backed into a corner.
It's interesting because there is a simple solution to all of this. Trump can resign. Simply resign. He's a liar, so he can easily lie. Make up a reason. We don't care.
Just go. Rid us of yourself, meddlesome President.
Then intelligent, serious minds can proceed with these complex problems. Let the simpleton go back to his simple world of greed and lust and envy and wrath and sloth and gluttony and pride.
But it's that last one, isn't it, that threatens the world. Pride.
War with North Korea is coming, the closer we come to indictments. This psychopath, Trump, will destroy millions of lives to spare the damage to his pride, should the truth come out into the full light.
Make no mistake, war on the Korean peninsula, no matter what the degree of damage, will be the single worst episode of genocide since the Neanderthals were bludgeoned to death.
Sorry Nicholas, the mistake was made when they agreed to the meeting in the first place. Kim won that round. The only thing worse for Trump than cancelling would have been to go through with the meeting. Trump may be an idiot but at least in this case, having made a big mistake, he didn't double down on it. With Trump, we have to take what we can get.
I'm glad I'm old, I got my time in.
5
Trump is not the negotiator he thinks he is. He does not understand that Kim Jong Un takes people captive to just release them later to make himself look humane. He will destroy a nuclear site, yet this will not stop him from researching how to build a better weapon and eventually using it. Pence and Bolton were stupid to threaten using the Libya model. The North Koreans took this as a threat of death. And why wouldn't they? In 2011, Qadaffi was ultimately killed for getting rid of his weapons. Unfortunately, The United States can no longer be trusted when it comes to foreign relations.
213
Agreed, and if I might take the liberty of rephrasing your first sentence:
"Trump is not the negotiator that his script and ghost writers were paid to purport him to be."
30
Marilyn G;Are we not being a trifle precocious, premature in our judgement?Am aware that liberal left, as SHS, has enunciated, would rather see TRUMP fail than America succeed, a resentment of him shared by most academicians above all,but cancelling the 12 June meeting is no doubt just a negotiating tactic. Trump is nobody's fool, as his astonishing electoral victory in 2016 demonstrated, nor can he be faulted for not restoring economic prosperity as recent Labor Dept. stats. show.Would a businessman with a proven record of success world wide, just having opened a first class hotel blocks from the WH not be able to prove himself a canny negotiator in pourparlers with North Korea? Wake up and smell the coffee!
1
Kim and DT, a love that was never meant to be. #sad
Kim - Winner.
Trump - Loser.
Trump must love Kim, afterall hasn't he stated that he loves "Winners"?
And Kim, emulating Putin, continues to play Trump like a master marionettist.
But this isn't a puppet show.
We should all be afraid due to Trump's diplomatic ineptness and dangerously bellicose and confrontational rhetoric.
Trump's letter to Kim is an ungrammatical, overly personal embarrassment to the US, written as if the interests to be served were his own rather than those of his country and its citizens
Trump endangers every American by combining ill-considered, off-the-cuff threats of aggression with unreasonable demands. His references to “fire and fury” and to his “bigger button” amount to threats to kill every man, woman and child in North Korea. To avoid this, Kim must immediately surrender his nuclear weapons, leaving him unprotected and vulnerable with the precedent of Gadhafi vividly etched in his brain. Kim is backed into a corner, his best option is to escalate, not to comply.
It was a bold step to make these threats, and having taken the risk of making them the least he could do when they produce promising results is to adjust his position sufficiently to keep the matter moving forward. But that would assume Trump understands the situation and has the patience to move forward gradually while Kim adjusts and develops confidence in the new direction. Sadly, Trump doesn’t get it. It would have worked, he may have won the Nobel Peace prize. He is a dunce, a dangerous dunce.
Trump is not taken seriously
191
That’s for sure.
7
Last sentence should read "We can only hope Trump is not taken seriously."
20
Nonsense, you may hate TRUMP and it shows, but he got further than any of his predecessors ever dreamed of.
Trump did not ask for meeting, it was KIM to start with because he has no choice.
Trump's letter reflects reality. It takes two to Tango, and KIM has not learned how to dance yet!
2
Trump was never serious about making peace with North Korea. He is too thin-skinned. He would rather have a conflict, especially that he has John Bolton on his team.
We are no closer to war than we were 2 years ago. A time where NK was routinely testing it's nuke arsenal and testing it's ballistic missile system. The Trump administration imposed tight economic sanctions on NK. An agreement with multiple international partners. It also exposed that the Chinese and the Russians were playing an end around by shipping oil and other goods to NK. Hard to refute the images of tankers at sea. NK is in reality an organized crime syndicate run by Kim. They are engaged in the sale of narcotics in Asia, counterfeiting US and other currencies, and uses hackers to engage in theft from banks and other corporations.
The Chinese don't want nuclear weapons in the hands of a rogue leader Kim Jung-un and it is also in their economic and security interests to not have nukes on the Korean Peninsula. The cancellation of the meeting is probably just one more step in a diplomatic dance. To declare we are closer to war by the NYT is irresponsible.
Yes, and in the "Deep Trump" world, this too will qualify him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
1
What would happen if the children of Republican lawmakers are ever threatened with the draft to fight John Bolton's war... ?
3
Never thought I'd miss that hockey mom from Wasilia.
Respect happens when a dangerous man meets a man who’s more dangerous.
1
I hope the secretary of defense and the top military leaders have a silent agreement to ignore any orders from emperor Trump that would trigger WW3, like the agreements to prevent a drunken Nixon to fire a nuclear device.
Love all the "expert" views here. What is clear is that there are many who would prefer Trump to fail rather than have America succeed. It's pathetic and I hope you realize at this point we have crossed a media chasm that will change how politics and politicians are viewed for the foreseeable future. Of course, Trump will be blamed for that too! I'll let you all go back to yelling in your echo chamber.
1
Establishment hate for Trump is so strong, they would rather he failed. Otherwise all the white-papers and fancy Ivy League degrees -- stuff that tells everyone they're smart -- are suddenly devalued. And courtesy of a man they loath. But where have all these smart people gotten us? If they could solve N.Korea, they would have solved N.Korea.
2
At least we can see, thanks to you, Peter, the warped minds of the education immune and knowledge loathing Trump base.
from day 1 i said here this would not happen. monday we were all treated to a photo of the commemorative coin that was going to represent a possible historic encounter.
our nation's leader got that cart in front of the horse yet again. his ability to not follow through on any action other than repudiation of the previous President continues each and every day.
so that coin is worthless. makes sense though. all he seems to accomplish for decades is rather worthless. good column thanks
1
It was obvious from the start that this summit had a slim chance of ever happening. It all started when the President (yet again) mouthed off in public.
Aside from President Trump's obvious incompetence, Kim Jong Un has his own worries. For starters, he has reportedly been fretting about a coup being launched while he was abroad at the summit. Also, one of his primary mechanisms for staying in power is to keep his generals fed and happy. That's hard to do if there isn't a giant bogeyman to point at. Bottom line, he has little incentive to make peace or give up his nuclear arsenal.
Let's first admit this summit was rushed. There was little groundwork on which to build. I think it's good that we are in a conversational rather than belligerent posture, though this could change at any minute with this president.
The chances of North Korea denuclearizing are minuscule; for this to even have a chance, however, we are looking first at years of improved relations and trust building. Trump, in his arrogance and hubris, believed he would get this all wrapped up in a few hours during a single trip to Singapore.
I must, however, give credit where it's due: Trump either realized he had made a serious miscalculation in his haste for a win or someone convinced him had, which I am sure was no small feat. Trump likely would have been humiliated so this cancellation is no surprise to me, and it's probably a good thing in the long run.
We must maintain a calm but firm rhetoric, and let the state department initiate talks with the appropriate North Korean officials. We have been down this road before, but not with this Kim. Trying again is, I believe, a good idea.
I also believe we have to move forward accepting that North Korea has nuclear weapons and will have them for the foreseeable future. There is no other viable choice; military options are impossible. Regime change--forget it.
Negotiations must begin from here, because as we saw North Korea has no appetite for Bolton's ridiculous "Libyan Model." Kim is now a serious player and must be treated as such.
The only military operation that ever goes according to plan is a parade, something that Trump is very keen on. Once the first shot is fired all bets are off, it's anybody's guess how the issue will be resolved.
1.By Kristof's standards, using "red flag laws", Trump would not be allowed to own guns ; yet Kristof doesn't suggest using such laws to take away all nuclear bombs from Trump.
2.The way VP Mike Pence and Bolton sabotaged Trump reminds me of the first season Apprentice when Amarosa sabotaged Kwame. "Well-played, Pence and Bolton, well-played."
2
"...it was a mistake when Trump rashly accepted the idea of a summit meeting without any careful preparations."
Trump isn't capable of preparing for something like this, but all he had to do was show up, shake hands, listen to Kim, present his points, then agree to consider all, and get back later. Bolten and Pence should have kept their mouths shut. The problem is they're all playing for Trump supporters instead of normal people.
1
Thomas Schelling, in his monumental "The Strategy of Conflict," posited that when two drivers are playing a game of chicken, the driver who has made a decision to throw away his steering wheel accomplishes nothing short of suicide unless he makes certain that his opponent sees him throw it away.
This is worth keeping in mind As Trump and Kim continue their game of chicken.
It has been traditional for the last few decades that Republican presidents start wars (Reagan, Bush1, Bush2) . Why should Trump be any different? If Americans didn't want a war, they wouldn't have voted for Trump. Might as well get it started, America awaits.
2
Best post I've read in weeks.
Bolton sabotages the peace talks by saying they will use the 'Libyan' model. This and aggressive 'exercises' including nuclear bomber planes, prompts Kim have second thoughts and to back off.
So, Trump beats him to the punch by cancelling the talks himself, so he can 'look' like HE is in control.
1
The lives of millions are at the mercy of the whims of two characters named Kim and trump.
If these two characters can't even talk to each other, what's left? Bigger buttons?
1
It was unimaginable from the get go that N. Korea would give up it's nuclear weapons. The question is, does Trump believe that his demonstrated incompetence and impulsive behavior (that lead to cancellation of talks) demonstrates to Kim that Trump can be trusted to keep promises, like keeping Kim secure, or anything else. That's a done deal.
Also, it's possible that Kim's closer ties with S. Korea and China, and their lifting sanctions, was all the he was aiming for all along. And that's based on the fact that Kim knew he was expected to give up his weapons and program since the beginning, but didn't expressly rebel until a few days ago.
1
The relationship would have been even more dangerous had the summit taken place as scheduled.
Now the momentum can pass from Trump to other more competent officials, in South Korea and Japan.
There has never been any good prospect of getting North Korea to fully disarm its nuclear capacities. But this episode has demonstrated some flexibility of both North Korea and the United States. If China can be persuaded to help constructively, for a change, there is still a chance of bargaining for an effective containment. The further the temperamental, impulsive and inept US president, and his inept aides, are from any direct involvement in that process the better the chances of success.
With the proper groundwork laid by competent diplomats, a summit to ratify could still take place later, and perhaps even justify the medals struck.
32
Kim Jong-un began the new year by going out on a limb to play nice. He stopped testing rockets and befriended South Korea. He offered to meet with Trump to discuss removing his nuclear stockpile and released three American prisoners as a sign of goodwill.
What did Trump do to encourage this good behavior? He allowed his generals to resume joint military drills with South Korea after they were suspended during the Winter Olympics. If that's not enough, he allowed Pence and Bolton to insult Kim by comparing North Korea to Libya. Since the Singapore summit won't be taking place, we may never know if Kim is serous about peace or if it's part of his ploy to divide the U.S. and South Korea. Why blame himself or his advisers for not giving peace a chance, when he can always blame China or Obama?
85
Have another drink! Kim's so called good behaviour came out of desperation, he could not test another nuke even if he wanted to. The testing facility was destroyed by the last uncontrolled blast that had Chinese worried of radioactive fallout.
All KIM was doing is using it as propaganda tool when in fact there was nothing he could have done.
Are you people so blinded by this strategy, that you thing KIM is suddenly Angel of Peace?
1
Nobody is blind to who Kim is. Trumpists, like yourself, however are blind to who Trump is and destroy the US in the process, in your case from the save haven of a tax dodger retreat.
18
The United States shouldn't be negotiating with oppressive dictators where we are technically engaged in war but these are small details. Trump is not alone in this regard. I love the South Korean reaction though.
“We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means.”
This is probably the best sentiment describing the Trump administration I've ever heard. Fear not South Korea, you are not alone. The entire world is trying to figure out the exact same thing.
Regarding war, this is actually a good opportunity to diffuse the situation. The US has lost more than its gained but everyone saves face. No harm, small foul.
Unfortunately, we're dealing with Trump and Kim. I feel like Kim might hesitate in poking the bear. China is softening again and South Korea is currently jello. Poking the bear is probably not in Kim's best interests. However, I'm not sure what internal pressure Kim might face as a result of Trump's withdrawal. The failed summit might be perceived as an offense. That could illicit a characteristically aggressive response. We'll see.
The more unfortunate actor is Trump though. A sociopathic ego surrounded by the likes of Bolton is not a good combination. I can see how Trump's unrestrained provocation could lead to war. That's what brought us here in the first place. Why is South Korea the only adult in the room?
104
The United States is allied with 'oppressive dictators' in Egypt, Israel, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Turkey who are engaged in wars that are contrary to American interests and values.
10
Is there anyone who thought that this summit would actually take place? President's Trump decision to move forward with the summit appeared to have been made almost on a whim, and given his capricious nature, the decision to not move forward was simply a matter of time. It is my understanding that South Korea tried to dangle the thought of winning a Nobel Prize as bait. (President Obama got one ...) There was no plan here, no thought out process. What other outcome could we expect?
70
Responding to comments on Trump's real estate negotiation skills, as an experienced negotiator, I can tell you not all negotiations are created equal. What Trump and I have in common is that we have no experience in international negotiation. That comes through clearly in the North Korean summit fiasco. It would behoove him to listen to actual experts next time.
9
Good analysis. When the president accepted the invitation to a summit immediately without seeking advice (and then minting medallions to commemorate the meeting), we were immediately in an inferior position. It increased the potential for failure. Failure is not an option when it comes to destabilizing the tenuous peace in the world. The president should have accepted and praised the offer but not commit to a summit until he had advice on the issue and the parameters of the discussion were established. We wanted NK to denuclearize but failing that what were the fall back positions that would increase the security for our allies and help to stabilize Asia? We empowered China by backing out of TPP. Could we have a summit with NK without participation of China or Russia? I doubt it. But, there is an opportunity for North and South to enter into talks.
1
This assumes Trump is sincere in holding a summit with Kim Jong Un and not just using it for political gain with no real intent of negotiating but just demanding concessions from KJU Trump knows he'll refuse. It's all a zero sum game to Trump, not diplomacy for compromise to make the Korean peninsula and East Asia safe from KJU.
5
Trump's "malignant narcissism" is just one group of symptoms that people with antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) can display.
The important point is that Trump has APD. Essentially no conscience. He lacks the limits on his behavior that we have learned to expect from normal people.
I am very afraid.
12
Nick, it sounds like you're saying that China and South Korea can't stomach further economic sanctions on the DPRK but can stomach a nuclear DPRK!
Say it ain't so!
I don't like Trump or Bolton but I also don't subscribe to the "North Korea is a rogue nation beyond even China's control" hypothesis.
I believe China uses North Korea as a signal device for the expression of their displeasure with the US and Japan. Russia piggybacks for their own reasons.
"I hope that North Korea will respond to Trump’s letter in similarly measured, calm terms. But no one has ever made money betting on North Korean calmness."
Or Trump's for that matter, did you read the letter?
"Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used."
Measured? Calm?..Not only does this make no sense, in it's incoherence it manages to be deeply threatening to the world.
1
Summit Bankruptcy. Classic Trump, unfortunately.
1
Do not worry! Trump will not blunder into a war.
We know by now how Trump does things.
Precedence Level-1: Keep his 'base' happy.
Precedence Level-2: Listen to the last person who spoke to him.
His base - white working class - hates war because it is that group that is hurt most by a war.
Remember his marching orders - do not touch social security or Medicare. Why?
2
If this administration was serious about the summit it could have tried to explain or excuse the Libyan model comments of Bolton and Pence to move back on track. Another administration would have apologised. It's laughable that Trump seems outraged by Kim's response!
1
Since childhood Trump has been a quarrelsome and belligerent trouble-maker. That is why his father, Fred Trump, sent away to military school.
Trump's entire publicity career was built on making enemies with those more famous than himself. Trump did not attack Obama and Hillary, and continues to do so, because he is a man who seeks amity and accord.
Conflict is the only thing Trump knows how to engage.
2
"Some Republicans have praised Trump for his North Korea diplomacy, and there’s been talk about him winning a Nobel Peace Prize."
You mean they're going to take it away from him?!
Well, I'm sure he'll say he didn't really want it - he was just joking.
2
John Bolton once thought that diplomacy is for losers. His foray into the old game of diplomacy has been disastrous. The unbridled attacks that he launched against Obama's diplomatic efforts around the world now appear shallow. What is he going to do next? Attack Iran or North Korea? These are not easy options.
1
Mr Kristof ... wasn't it merely a month or two ago that you were criticizing and expressing apprehension at the possibility of a Trump - Kim meeting? Now you're criticizing the cancelation of said meeting. What changed?
2
It is not what has changed; it is what is the same: automatic opposition to Trump driven by hatred and disdain.
1
Trump, Pence and Bolton are the cause of this. I think they wanted JUST this effect. More War Mongering from the right who are always wrong.
1
The Master of Distraction is blatantly seeking the most dramatic way to shift the attention from his scandal-ridden regime by starting a major international conflict with a thoroughly unappealing and dangerous dictator.
It goes without saying that the recklessness of the Trump-Bolton-Pompeo troika is the reflection of three ageing men who know full well that their own best years are well behind them. And since when did any of them ever really care about the future and welfare of their fellow Americans, except for electoralist reasons ? We are in a deep mess, I fear.
2
"Trump's jingoistic rhetoric didn’t particularly intimidate North Korea ..." It's a mistake to think that the American military doesn't scare every sane human being, considering what it's capable of (Hussein, I hear, thought we were bluffing right down to the end). When the national security advisor goes on TV, as McMaster did, and says that our military is "locked and loaded," that is clearly intimidating. Paranoia (and conspiracies) about U.S. capabilities, power, and intentions is today (has long been) pervasive in areas of the world where we encounter foes; and that paranoia is surely increased with someone so erratic in command.
I want to shift gears and claim that the way we talk to and about North Korea, and all our enemies, does matter a great deal, which isn't necessarily a suggestion for placation via our language -- but feelings of honor and respect matter more than people imagine. Recall the Thucydidean triad: People go to war out of honor, fear, and interest. ... Let us just point out again how dangerous and damaging it is to have someone like Trump as president. In less than two years, the examples of this are illimitable. Many leftists portrayed Clinton as a hawk and frankly preferred Trump's semi-isolationism. What garbage. We should pray these people never reach a position of dominance in the Democratic Party. The only thing more dangerous than a war hawk is a peacenik.
1
I wish that the children of those who decide that war is the best solution were obliged to also be the first ones to join the battle. Maybe if these "leaders" had to face the same dangers and horrors the rest of us do they'd work harder at diplomacy.
2
"Yet Pentagon officials seem deeply nervous that Trump doesn’t realize" the risk to Seoul, Tokyo, or perhaps LA.
No, Trump doesn't Care.
2
Let's see, Trump has alienated our Pacific trading partners by ending the Trans Pacific Partnership, removed the U.S. from the Paris Climate agreement, alienated our NATO allies not once, but twice, ended the Nuclear deal in Iran, enraged most of the Middle East by placing an American embassy in Jerusalem, made his administration synonymous with "S-W-A-M-P" in all caps, started a trade war with China and our allies, rolled back all protections pertaining to climate emissions, pollution, banking, etc., gutted the State Department and other agencies, added $1.5 trillion in debt to make the rich, richer, climbed in bed with the Russians, and last, but not least, is bumbling his way into a confrontation with North Korea. All this and it's only been barely 18 months . . . can't wait to see what he does with the next 30.
11
Walking away from negotiations may be a tactic that sometimes work. However, more deals are made, in real estate and in other areas, including international relations, when the parties actually get in the room and get down to brass tacks and behave like mature adults. Problem here may be that POTUS placed unrealistic demands as a condition to any meeting. He wanted to maintain perception that he was in control of this process, so he pulled the plug.
Stated reasons are just a cover; POTUS got backed into a corner by his overreach so he pulled out. Real objective should have been to get a relationship of some kind (with South Korea as a facilitator) started, which then could serve as the basis for substantive progress on nuclear issues. Now we are back to children calling each other names on the playground.
1
It is apparent that China's interests must be addressed if an agreement is to be reached. North Korea must view China as its' lifeline.
Perhaps the meeting should have taken place in Beijing. It is possible the meeting has already taken place in Beijing and the United States wasn't invited.
Yes more dangerous for North Korea and perhaps South Korea as well.
It's uncertain whether the cancellation of the meeting poses a greater danger to the U.S. than would an inept President meeting with a more purposeful leader of North Korea. We should have expected this result as both men seemed to have developed "buyer's remorse." And, the addition of one more clown -- John Bolton -- to the clown car that, sadly, is our White House, fairly compelled this result. That said, why does the U.S. need to do anything to or with North Korea? If North Korea has destroyed its nuclear production capability, and it still has no credible nuclear ICBM threat and now professes not to need it, what purpose would a military strike serve? In the end, the U.S. already has lost this "war" in that Kim got what he wanted: recognition as a legitimate power on the world stage that the U.S. President would deal with as an equal. And, President Trump gave him precisely that in a letter on White House stationery for all the world to see.
7
Trump is the first " president ", ever, to have NEVER been elected to any office OR to have served in the Military. It Shows. And then some.
23
Not worried. Trump is extremely well-informed about everything and carefully considers foreign policy. Plus, he has only the best people and uses the best words. And he's not distracted by the fact that half the country hates him and is trying to throw him out of the oval office. What could go wrong?
17
Surely this is sarcasm....
Oh come on Nick -- you and the rest of the left can't get your stories straight. Negotiations don't work unless the military option is real. We may not want to use it. But in the end better to hit them now than for them to hit several US cities.
What you fail to realize is this is a step in an ongoing negotiation. If Kim says fine -- let's reschedule, there'll be a meeting. If not, Trump will put more sanctions on NK and more pressure on China. Eventually Kim will cave.
To think that some how this is the end of negotiating and we'll go to war is silly.
And which pentagon officials seem nervous? Hmmm. Why not name names. Or take a survey. I can find Pentagon officials who think this is the right way to go. Just like you can interview people on the street and only quote those who think Trump is messing this up. I can find a bunch who think he is doing the right thing.
1
As much as as I despise Trump. This was one of his smarter moves. Heightened rhetoric and no shows from NK delegations are evidence that they were going to try and shift the onus on the US for failure or cancellation of the talks and use it to extract support from China and Russia. This was a perfectly timed preemptive move by the White House. Kim is clearly not interested in "negotiation" and it is premature to have a summit without a general sense of what the positions are. The US position is clear no nukes on the Korean peninsula. It is ridiculous to think that reunification of Korea will ever occur if one of the leaders is a dictator.
North Korea will try to use their nuclear capability to bargain for economic gain to the maximum extent they can. All dictators know that once they loosen the reins on their people the resurgence of freedom is unstoppable. China and Russia have no desire for NK to become a democracy much less one leaning toward the west. Status quo is good enough for them.
The best thing to do is keep the pressure on and the rhetoric down. When they REALLY want to talk we can visit summit negotiations again. Trying to appease Kim is exactly what he wants.
“We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means.” - South Korean official.
AS are we. Trump's addiction to the slam bang public melodrama full of threats and false promises was not suited to a touchy negotiation with a really scary enemy. But since he'd gone this far, pulling out showed a weak hand. An absence of purpose.
Was Pence scripted to threaten Kim with death, or did it just slip out in the absence of so many departed State Department experts? What was the point of that other than to instigate anger tp guarantee a stop?
If he was scripted, was Trump in on the plan? Or was this a Bolton initiative to actually sidestep Trump's ( remotely) possible chance of striking any agreements?
Where are all the sane adults"
7
Both leaders may still like to make the summit happen but neither one can get out of the way of their own big mouth.
1
Perhaps, if the media hadn't parroted Washington's pessimism on the talks like the servile lapdogs that they are, we would still have the possibility of a diplomatic resolution.
Both leaders may still like to make the summit happen but neither one can get out of the way of their big mouth.
2
Indeed, danger of an armed conflict is lurking in the shadows. Warmonger Bolton must be ecstatic. And Pompeo, the least diplomatic representative as secretary of state, may oblige. Who said the military-industrial complex is not around the corner, greedy to start another war, however 'criminal' for the rest of us, pushed to foot the bill in blood and treasure...and untold suffering that draft- escapee Trump is clueless about? What a farce, Trump's improvisation with no serious strategy, and yet being dangerously, and foolishly, taken seriously by his cadre of yes-siree misfits.
4
Trump trumps every time with the power of NO.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Trump is the "decider", because he is ready to say NO.
It's a game. It is the President's game to play, to build his base.
It's working. The more he rejects, the more power he has.
The boss, Trump is always right, even when he is wrong.
I hope the Democrats finally find ways to Trump, trump...
2
Is there anybody out there that honestly thought Daycare Donnie would really show up to this summit? He's way out of his element here. Rocket Man called his bluff. Trump's too much of a coward. Bullies back down. Trump is no different. I hope Trump gets the psychiatric help he so desperately needs, for all our sakes. He a menace and dangerous.
3
Mr Kristof seems to take our "dear leaders" Kim and Trump too much at face value. If his reaction was not politically based, then how does he defend reading so much into the cancellation of this summit? Too much hope was always placed in this meeting and upon the superficiality of leaders withholding their agendas and true feelings.
I can hardly defend Trump on anything, but I think our "dear leader" withholds much less than their "dear leader". Yet any commentator shills for unreality if (s)he doesn't see the possible Trump motive of refusing to take Kim at face value.
"....particularly inept diplomatic period...". Nicholas, from the first day of this nightmare everything, including diplomacy, has been subject to our inept "president" and his nonsensical whims.
Not only should the leadership in the Pentagon be concerned, the pandering Trump boot lickers in Congress should be alarmed also.
Many will cheer and call Trump decisive and proclaim he is a real leader. No, the decision was stupid, dumb, and inept. There was no leadership demonstrated with this action-just another temper tantrum from our toddler "president".
Hopefully Kim is much more adult than Trump and restrains his military. It is obvious that Old Bone Spurs is itching for a war to cement his legacy-in the ashes of war.
2
This how deals are made.
Trump sensed that Kim would cancel so he cancelled first.
Now the ball is in Kim's court.
Meanwhile, we got back 3 hostages and gave up nothing.
4
I think that just as military planners before WW1 never imagined what would really happen, so too military experts and even writers such as MR Kristoff are woefully underestimating the dangers from a war breaking out in Korea.
The risk of escalation to global thermonuclear war is real and significant. China has a military alliance with North Korea. Assuming China would not honor its alliance is a fool's bet if the US attacks. If the US responds to a North Korean attack, perhaps China would stand aside. If escalation to global thermonuclear war between China and the USA happens there would probably be some survivors, but the vast majority of US citizens would perish.
Leaving aside the many millions of dead that would result from use of nuclear and chemical weapons EVEN IF China steps aside, North Korea is reliably reported to have produced and weaponized large stocks of several virulent contagious diseases, plus anthrax which is persistent and virulent, but not very contagious. Release of just one disease in particular, namely smallpox, that North Korea has very likely stockpiled and weaponized, would be catastrophic. Based on historical death rates reintroduction of a virulent strain of smallpox at multiple locations, would easily cause a billion deaths worldwide, perhaps several billion, in short order.
It is an extremely dangerous fallacy, to think there would only be a few million casualties from war with North Korea. We would win a Pyrrhic victory.
2
Trump is a loose cannon looking for an incident. Supported by Bolton and Pompeos' belligerent rhetoric. It is just a matter of time before he blunders into a situation and gets some gratification of the wrong variety.
218
Two questions:
What is Trump wearing on his head in the photo the that accompanies this article?
Does Trump own the franchise in North Korea for MNKGA hats?
If not, he really missed a financial opportunity here.
2
In his letter, Trump, says that nothing is more important than his relationship with Kim - je suis l’étate! Who could be surprised by this?
1
Why don't you just headline every story with "Trump Can Do No Right" and leave it at that?
2
Both John Bolton and Mike Pence should have kept their mouths shut! What a bunch of amateurs!
7
Here's a thought: to Trump, Kim's ability to nuke LA or San Francisco in a "dead hand" counter-strike is not a bug but a feature. Do you think anybody in Trump's radical orbit would mourn the loss of Nancy Pelosi's home territory? How quickly do you think the Republicans would clamor about redistricting in light of the lost population, to say nothing of adjusting California's electoral college votes?
2
Kim Jong-un wants basically two things: lifting of sanctions and safety from a U.S. attack. Why confront him? Why not just continue as we have, making the sanctions painful, insuring that North Korea doesn't try to move beyond its borders? Yes, they have some nukes and other weapons of mass destruction, but why would they use them unless provoked? Treat North Korea like a dangerous wild animal. Keep it in a cage, feed it just enough to keep it quiet.
Mr. Kristof, do you really think Kim wants to totally eliminate his nukes, and that he doesn't have other, well hidden sites other than the damaged one allegedly blown up today? Kim thinks very differently than western leaders; having nukes creates a certain strategic advantage in negotiations, and what he wants is more imports, perhaps even some limited diplomatic relations, but still holding on to his powerful sticks. It's not so much a lack of trust in the U.S., though that could be argued, but the firm belief he will never be taken as a push over. Nor can he afford, literally, to open up his country to western eyes. Assume the starvation, gruesome prisons, etc. will continue, indefinitely.
You wonder what The Guardian has to say about his subhuman treatment of his countrymen.
Trump is not capable of prolonged negotiations. He has no attention span. He also doesn't have the intelligence necessary to know the difference between HIV and HPV.
"Trump’s Relationship With North Korea Just Got More Dangerous"
No sane person expected any benefits from this meeting. Things didn't get more dangerous, because the meeting was doomed to fail. When it comes to Trump, why do people still think that there is still a there, there?
14
Why is it so difficult for grown men in position of power to simply extend a gentle hand of compassion, recognition and empathy when relationships between countries turn sour? Why would showing peaceful intentions be a sign of weakness? Perhaps leaders would have their self-pride scratched a bit. But who cares when the alternative is a senseless nuclear or conventional war putting the lives of millions at risk. Perhaps humanity needs a new breed of world leaders. Fast.
3
This can all be summed by the simple statement, frequently invoked by adolescent boys, "I'm going to take my nuclear football and go home."
1
I respect that journalists need to analyze the "why this move, why that move" of whatever Trump spews each day, because it is not for them to make the final judgement that our President is a madman... history and the American people will decide that.
But let us remember that his words, while literally a danger to the planet, signify nothing. How many of us really expected him to meet with Kim Jong-un? Not only was this cancellation to be expected, but the arbitrariness of the reason was expected.
In a few days, he'll claim that he never intended to meet Kim, that it was just a ploy to have our prisoners returned. "The greatest strategy trick EVER", he'll tweet. "Better than when Caesar did that Trajan horse thing!"
2
Mr. Kristof is right, this is a dangerous. But many who study Korean situation feel relief. A Trump-Kim meeting opens the door to verbal misunderstanding, commitments that get undone in humiliation, Trump traps that mock anything Mueller engineers. Trump's ego is jello, easy to shake. Obsessing he's been insulted, he reacts irrationally.
China applied sanctions to push US, S. Korea to talk. China thinks, to avoid nuclear war let N. Korea develop. Trump's ego makes agreement possible. Xi strokes it, gets what he wants. If Trump walks away, China may get cover to relax sanctions.
N. Korea is too risky. Extreme poverty + nuclear weapons: MAD fails. Mutually assured destruction works when opponents have much to lose. I won't attack, if I'll be bombed back to the stone age.
What if country is stone age? If its people are bent by hunger, live by firelight, watch children die? All politics local, N. Korea compares itself to S. Korea. They catch up if mutually destroyed. Only example of nuke face-off between such unequals - Cuba '62. Castro wanted to use them.
China is within fallout range, and 1 million Chinese died in the Korean War. To make N. Korea feel it has something to lose, let them & leaders get stuff. Plus China can't lose what military sacrifice gained - keeping US troops from border.
Now the game changes. Trump goes bellicose, China thinks boy cries wolf. They 'relax' sanctions, help N. Korea. Boys who cry wolf sometimes go postal, especially if impeached.
1
no one has ever made money betting that 45 knows what he is talking about, either, mr kristof. this horse was lame out of the gate.
how we're still expecting the guy to start behaving like something other than a petulant child is utterly beyond me.
2
It's hard to gauge what either side really intended to achieve with the now scuttled summit, but surely the Libya comparisons by Bolton and Pence were major factors in its failure. What price the world has to pay for their malign acts remains to be seen.
1
Kim has achieved his goal, even though Don the Con has backed out of the so-called "summit". Kim's goal is to be placed at the same level as other world leaders. This showed that he can influence other leaders even if they don't respect him. He can control what tRump does and that gives him the power he desires. tRump has been played and doesn't even recognize it.
Trump havoc, continued. He alienates still another ally, South Korea.
2
Not wanting to sound overly pessimistic, but U.S. military intervention in Korea was a foregone conclusion from the very beginning, and with all of Donald Trump's insulting tweets and taunts, plus the entrance of National Security Adviser, John Bolton on the scene, our doom was sealed.
This is not a president who believes in diplomacy, which is just as well since the U.S. State Department has basically been eviscerated and the stick is now believed to be more powerful than the carrot.
As a result, anyone who thought this Summit Meeting with Kim Jong-un was going to occur obviously underestimated the destructive power of Donald Trump, especially when his talk of U.S. military expansion and the "Libya model" became part of the ongoing dialogue.
It also hasn't helped matters that he has recently upgrading his sword-rattling banter against China.
Given all these elements, who could possibly be surprised that his relationship with North Korea just got more dangerous -- but not only for him, it has gotten more dangerous for us all.
2
What can I say? Buy stocks associated with the mortuary industry in the United States before undertakers start to benefit from a predictable bumper crop of bodies to process....
What are the real issues ? What is the source of conflict ?
I mean what is it that X has that Z wants ? Or vice versa.
Nobody seems to want to invade anybody or take anything back. I don’t see what the root issues are. Just a lot of hostility and mutual distrust, but no real sources of conflict that need to be resolved.
I hope that we aren’t going to have a war over nothing.
North Korea will launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. or South Korea ? The U.S. has enough nuclear bombs to kill everybody in North Korea, 100 times over. I cannot see why North Korea would want to sign up for being removed from the map. So it doesn’t seem like a real worry.
The possibility of a war with North Korea trumps those touchy feely hand wringing columns about sensible solutions in dealing with America's love affair with guns. Pretty soon we're going to need all the guns we can get our hands on.
Are you serious? Do you think North Korea is going to invade the US? Or do you fear that the US military doesn't have enough M16s?
1
As usual, Nick articulately says what many of us are thinking and feeling. Yes, it is another "Art of the Deal" that, instead of a deal, may well be a situation could result with bad consequences and a price that we all would be forced to pay for one unstable person's whim and wish. It should make any reasonable American shocked that we have a country with a ego-centered bully running things, especially winging it with our critical, essential foreign policy issues.
3
This could get very sticky. Kim was not the least impressed with Trump's talk of annihilation as in response he set off near record number of nuclear and missile tests. PM Moon however was quite impressed and feared for the safety of Seoul and did not feel like being a bargaining chip between two 4th grade school yard bullies. He may decide to move ahead with some kind of reconciliation with the North and find refuge under the China umbrella. South Korea is much more valuable to China than the politically, economically, and socially bankrupt North Korea. For the 35% who did not understand what motivates Trump, they should know it is not them. He was busy spiking the ball at the 50 yard line through ignorance and hubris just like he did with the Healthcare debacle. This is a blunder of monumental proportions and he pulled out before North Korea pulled out on him due to his and VP Pence's incompetence. Thank you
8
Mr Trump’s letter was excruciating to read. Juvenile thought process and incoherent use of language. Continuing to draw attention back on himself, not the extremely grave issues at stake. Comparing appendage sizes like a giggling teenager. Smarmy flattering of a merciless and brutal dictator, practically saying “I wish we could be Best Friends”. Is this really the best that America can offer ?
12
"There was some political risk that Trump would look foolish reaching a general agreement with North Korea that was much less significant and onerous than the one he tore up with Iran."
Therein lies the issue. It's all about Trump's ego, his obsession with looking like a winner, and his fear of being considered weak. This is not how foreign policy has been conducted in the past and our future looks grim with this man aided by warmongers Pompeo and Bolton at the helm. "Dangerous" is an understatement.
2
It’s very worrisome that the North Korea situation could go sideways quickly. While an apparent attempt at diplomacy has failed it seems that Trump and the US are potentially gearing up for a military conflict. Bolton and Pompeo were not hired for their diplomacy although Pompeo seems to try. As the article states it’s very scary that Trump seems to think using nukes is Ok. Let’s hope that caution prevails with North Korea.
1
As usual, this piece speculates that Trump could have played his cards better, without any indication that the measured approach, which Nick's revered presidents have tried without success, would somehow have succeeded. His predecessors did not "realize military options are too dangerous..." they merely fecklessly concluded that. The military option is the only card Trump can and may have to play; of course there could be collateral damage, but risking Seoul, Tokyo and LA is acceptable if that is what it takes to protect the rest of the world from N. Korea.
2
You are talking about provoking or causing the killing of millions of people to "protect the rest of the world." I'm sure that the residents of Seoul, Tokyo and LA are ready to make that supreme sacrifice. Your purported location is "SF." You must have lots of confidence that the radiative winds from a devastated LA won't blow up to you. But thanks for fleshing out the reality of taking the military option. By the way, I hope you recall that when the US and its allies attacked Libyan forces Kadahfi had no nuclear weapons or any effective military. Just sayin'.
1
Two issues arise as a result of the meeting cancellation:
1) The Trump administration suddenly realized that they were woefully unprepared for the summit meeting, especially as our president was woefully ignorant of the issues and capable of shooting off his mouth in a dangerous direction. Therefore, Pence sent out to make provocative statements about Libya/Korea so as to form a basis for meeting cancellation.
2)The emphasis on the Libyan outcome makes any hope of preserving the Iranian nuclear agreement since it denigrates to Iran that absent a nuclear deterrent they are considered expendable to the USA and possibly our European allies.
1
Perhaps Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize as much as John Bolton wants a war, but only one of them has the discipline, skills, and work ethic to get what they want.
2
Make that "neither of them has the discipline, skills, and work ethic to get what they want."
2
@Paul
I wish that was the case, Bolton is dangerous but he is not a fool. Trump is a dangerous fool and in way over his head.
Bolton introducing the "Libya Model" into the conversation was no accident. He got just what he wanted.
Trump seems to be crazy like a fox. He won the White House when all the left wing pundits had written him off. His tax reform is a major success, it not only put money back in the pockets of Americans but also reduces the perverse incentives that fuel inflation in real estate and state and local government spending which liberals hate to admit. America has 65 years of policy failures with Iran and North Korea. Dealing sincerely with these two countries has not paid off in the past. Let us give Trump's foreign policy a chance.
Despite appearances, the repetition of "major success" on Fox News, et al., doesn't make it so. The "pockets of Americans" saw little to nothing, unless you mean the pockets of the 1%. And there was no substantial "trickle down". All but a tiny fraction of the money going to business has ended up in stock buy back. People outside of the Fox newsroom know this, which is why Republicans aren't running on the tax bill.
10
Given Pence's and Bolton's idiotic Libyan analogy, the way was opened for Kim to turn to China (and perhaps even S. Korea) and suggest - without actually saying it - "See what kind of idiocy I'm having to deal with?" Kim's belligerence toward the U.S. is a Kabuki show for his own people, while his ultimate objective is better and more open relations with China and S. Korea. His domestic economy is in horrible shape, and that's dangerous to any tyrant. His best bet is to simulate a "united Korea" under the appearance of light-fingered control by N. Korea, thus relieving Chinese concerns about greater U.S. influence in the peninsula. A trade pact with S. Korea - however thin - is next. President Obama was right to turn his eyes toward Asia, and Trump's ignorant withdrawal from the TPP sent a message that the U.S. is no longer concerned about the Pacific.
8
The key to the NK problem has always been with China.
The recent amazing advances in NK's nuclear and the ICBM programs are very probably the result of the Chinese strategic policy of attempting to oust the USA from the east China sea.
China simply gave their NK's proxies the technology, and perhaps even the actual hardware (there are some tricky electronic stuff needed in both).
NK is a proxy, a dummy and the smart people always knew this, so the cancellation of the Singapore meeting has no real significance.
The situation remains the same, NK has some nuclear capability and the USA will be smart not to allow it to develop it further and threaten the west coast.
I agree with your analysis, except for saying North Korea's statements about Pence were a miscalculation. I think they were calculated to kill the summit based on what China was saying to them. China was not going to be left out.
2
Mr. Kristof,
You can sleep well. Trump is a giant gaseous object. Except that unlike another giant gaseous object, Jupiter, he lacks any gravity.
With respect to North Korea, we can expect Trump to simply blow off steam on Twitter and then divert the attention of his deplorable, rabid base with some other nonsense du jour.
Trump knew he would not get as good a deal from North Korea as Obama got from Iran, so he cut his losses and ran. Just another bankruptcy.
1
BTW notice his tweet starts out:
“Sadly, I was forced to cancel..,”
This passive voice is strange.
I expected something more like:
“Boldly, Trump cancelled...” with a few insults too. Losing your Nobel must be tough on a guy.
Bad enough that War is often the means used to enrich some folks coffers, but two tyrants, engaged in school yard bullying with nuclear weapons is a horrifying situation. We have a president who has no credibility. When you are known to lie and to dishonor promises you are in no position to negotiate. When you lack a knowledge of history and fail to understand other cultures you can't hope to negotiate. We are sitting on a powder keg big enough to destroy much of the planet. When will reason be returned to the American government?
If Kim plays this right, he'll just say NK is disappointed and looks forward to a meeting in the future. If so, both China and SK can soften sanctions, continue dialog, and lower the risks of conflict.
Trump in the meantime will be off on other misadventures, i.e. Iran, Syria, the Israeli , Palestinian issues, or maybe something altogether new. Ah hah, let's start a fight with Canada over NAFTA. Maybe even build a wall along our northern neighbors 3,000 mile border. Just a thought!
1
So I guess Pence's open threat about North Korea ending like Libya unless Kim makes a deal means that his words won't be followed up on now after the summit cancellation? Tisk-tisk!!
These are the most inept amateurish politicians/statesmen the US has ever elected to office! That bumbler, Bolton, in the midst of sensitive preparations and South Korea's moves defuse tensions, brings up the Libya model?
North Korea releases US detainees, yet our military continues its exercises? North Korea demolishes its nuclear test facility as yet another demonstrable step, yet, what does the US do? Mouth threats and issue insults?
These are not recipes for diplomatic success. What Kim was looking for were reciprocal gestures. He had already pledged with Moon Jae-in that they were going to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and had made the initial outreach to the US with his invitation of the parties to the summit, yet, the Trump administration thought it wise to continue provocative military exercises and to compare NK's fate to Libya. Sounds very much like it was Trump and the US side who were getting cold feet and were fearful of having to demonstrate that they would need to make serious concessions during the negotiations and were fearful of the political consequences of negotiating in good faith.
"No-bel, No-bel!" That should become the campaign slogan for the Democrats in the midterms. Because no Nobel is ever going to be awarded to Trump and his ilk.
2
Kristof is inadvertently revealing the fact that he does not understand how successful transactions occur. This part of the process is called "negotiation."
1
Trump realized he could not "win" at the summit, so he backed off.
1
Yep we are headed for war, unless someone
in congress wakes up. That is how I see it.
I guess congress thinks heads in sand are a
protection against radiation fall out. Trump
is guilty of money laundering
and at least one foreign power has control
over him because of this. The truth is
closing in on Trump, he has figured he does
not have enough distractions to outdistance
the facts. His lawyer will have to give him up.
And how many others have given
incriminating evidence? There is nothing
left but for Trump and mad as a hatter Bolton
but to gleefully bomb North Korea. Too bad
all those millions in the surrounding areas
will needlessly die. And lots of us too. The important
thing is to foil the investigation and it will too.
And to add stupid to stupid. He is even giving his game plan away to North Korea. What have they got to left?
Bombing us first that is what. But Trump will not
have to face consequences once again, Now instead
of stiffing and suing his contractors and small businesses
and people who get in his way, he is doing it to all
of us.
1
Our allies learned today that even kowtowing to Dainty Donny doesn't mean he won't throw you under the bus for his own failures.
5
On the Nobel Prize issue you are correct. It would have been almost as ludicrous as awarding Obama a Nobel Prize for doing, well, nothing.
Anyone with any diplomatic intelligence would have known from the beginning that Trump's approach was not going to work, and by offering Kim the possibility of a summit with no forethought, Trump had no leverage.
So, we are back to where we were before. On the US side sanctions will continue as usual and on the North Korean side Kim will continue to thumb his nose at the US.
Kim is NOT stupid and he will in no way make a preemptive first strike against South Korea or any nation. I fear that US actions by Trump/Bolton/Pompeo may will push Kim over the edge.
Unless Trump does something stupid nothing bad will happen. But Trump has done many stupid things....................
1
I just read Trump's letter canceling talks with North Korea. Even a love struck teenager could write a more appropriate letter. Odd wording -suggestive of an unfocused mind with limited vocabulary. Well I guess things could be worse as Mr. Kristof suggests could still happen. 2018 elections can not come soon enough. Please vote as if our lives depend on this simple, but profound act. Our lives actually do depend on the democrats taking control of Congress.
1
Trump cancelled the summit because he knew that he would not be able to bully Kim into giving up his nuclear weapons. The best that would have been accomplished was for Kim to abandon all further testing of his ballistic missiles and to stop making threats against America and South Korea. Trump would have looked like a fool for claiming he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump believes that he can threaten our judiciary, our judges and courts, our intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials, our press, our political leaders, and the hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants who work hard every day to do what is best for America.
Trump believed he can do the same thing with Kim.
I hope and I pray that my Party, the Democratic Party, nominates someone who can inspire and uplift our nation, someone who will appeal to our better angels, and someone who will restore the civil discourse in our nation that Trump has worked so hard to destroy with his mean spirited, cruel, and vile attacks against any person or group that does not agree with him.
I hope and I pray that the Democrats will nominate a candidate who will stop emboldening, empowering, and embracing racists as Trump has done and continues to do every day.
But most of all I hope and pray that turnout in November of 2018 and in 2020 is record setting, and that Congress is restored to Democratic control, and that Trump is ousted, if not by impeachment then by a resounding vote from the American people.
1
"The cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un creates a risk that the U.S. will revert to military options."
I judge it be something very close to a certainty that Trump will soon send in the planes with the blockbuster bombs. It could even be tonight.
The November elections are approaching fast, Mueller is greatly annoying him, the stock market is shaky and the cancellation of this meeting will not improve his already very tenuous hold on mental heath.
Before too long, I expect we'll be seeing ads for bomb shelters on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Fallout-Shelter-Designing-Architecture-Landscape/...
1
"We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means."
(Shades of T. S. Eliot:
"With his conversation so nicely
Restricted to "What precisely.. . . .. ' ")
What does President Trump "mean"? Ah, you unfortunate South Koreans! May I proffer my two battered cents?
HE DON'T MEAN NOTHIN'.
Our President--by and large--is not a person who deals in "meaning." That is.
(1) speaking to convey facts--truth--information--etc.
(2) endeavoring to persuade--convince--motivate--etc.
These are pretty broad brush strokes. I know it.
But I think--very often--Mr. Trump speaks out of a compulsion--a need to VENT. SAY something Get it off his chest. Discharge those pent-up stores of. . .
. ..stores of WHAT, precisely?
Anger. Frustration. Wounded vanity. Malice. Ill will.
And maybe some other stuff. Who knows? God knows.
It has been alleged--and I believe it--our President does not get up in the morning with clear-cut plans: I propose to do THIS. . .or THAT. . .or strive on toward some long-term goal of THUS and such. . . ."
No. he follows his gut. His mood of the moment. Does he REFLECT on things? Consider? Deliberate?
Nah.
He ACTS. We all know that. And , of course. . . .
. . .HE TALKS!
We know all about THAT, don't we.
"Make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means."
Lotsa luck, guys!
You'll need it.
1
I hope the Deplorables will finally wake up before it’s too late and vote Democratic in November. The Democrats must win the House and Senate. Even at the risk of a civil war, we have to get rid of Dangerous Donald before he kills us all.
5
The real sacrificial piece in this high stake game Trump is playing, is South Korea. Status quo would have been a far more stable and safe state.
1
This is what happens when a minority of the voters elect an incompetent know-nothing-at-all whose defining characteristic was to threaten everyone and everything that he perceives to be in his way, or will benefit his popularity.
Government is not a game. It is life and death. We live at a time where a miscalculation can cause billions, yes billions, of deaths. Probity and understanding are demanded, yet we have a President who can barely read a teleprompter, badly.
I'd like to say "God help us", but why would God support a man who sees himself as above all laws.
5
This entire fruitless exercise of the vainglorious attempt to force de-nuclearization by North Korea was a fool’s errand from the start.
Donald Trump assumed office with a single goal: the complete, absolute and total atomization of every political initiative by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Trump never had a plan for either Iran or North Korea. Since no American president has succeeded with the Kim family since time out of mind, Donald Trump allowed himself to be seduced by his “advisers,” an incompetent lot, into beating his chest with “fire and fury” bombast in response to Kim’s nuclear tests.
A boxing metaphor might better illustrate here. With no clear objective, Trump waded into the ring in the worst possible defensive-offensive position: his gloves raised to deliver blows but with his head down. The result was that he lost sight of his field of vision—his surroundings. So when the wily North Korean leader threw out a feint (a summit with the tantalizing expectations of praise from a grateful world—a Nobel), Trump took the bait and left himself open to being pummeled—which is precisely what happened.
Trump, armed with two pit bulls (John Bolton, Michael Pompeo) and a possible third (Mike “make them like Libya” Pence), is now humiliated by the retreating Kim. He will once more resort to threats now that his manhood’s prowess has been exposed for the impotency that he feared everyone would see. Style points to Kim.
Trump earned this. He richly deserves his shame.
13
This is, obviously a diplomatic failure but if you look at the comment section of today's top story you will see the usual apologists for the Trump administration saying how savvy and hard charging our commander in chief is. Which means there were no lessons learned from this experience on the right, which means they'll be no consequences for Republican leaders to continue the delusional fallacy that Trump is on top of the situation, which could very well lead to something quite catastrophic. Both the NK listening to state run news sources and Americans listening to FOX news may well lead us to war because both are hostile to, uninterested in and, probably at this point, unfamiliar with the truth.
2
Everything about Trump is dangerous. America is on a roller coaster which could go off the rails at any time. Trump's terrible choice of John Bolton as NSA is behind this.
3
I have friends in Europe who cling to the myth that America is a free, open society - a “melting pot” is the term they’ve used. Sadly, I have to correct them that the America they imagine does not exist. In truth, we are a sick society and always have been. Most of our people are poorly educated, lacking in critical thinking skills and therefore easily propagandized. We are violent. We live in segregated communities. People who are not white are feared, shunned and treated like dangerous invaders. We are also a violent society, with a love of guns that is shocking to people in other “civilized” countries. Trump merely reflects who we actually are. While he did not cause the mess, he certainly exploited it and has made it worse.
3
The greatest source of risk for war, Nicholas, is our new NSA director, John Bolton. He has written that he'd like to bomb Iran. His commentary was printed over 10 years ago in this paper. Does Bolton want a war? Does a hungry dog like a treat?
It may happen that Bolton can't push Trump into a bombing raid on North Korea. But he will try hard to realize it. There are plenty of incompetents in Trump's current and previous advisors. Bolton, however, stands out as not simply obtuse (as his Iraq war writing has shown), but very nearly irrational in his eagerness to bomb someone. He hasn't matured since he wildly encouraged the disastrous Iraq war of 2003. To the contrary, his ideas, and capacity for prudence, have grown more sclerotic. If the flames of war engulf the 2 Koreas, the man (like Nero in myth) fiddling in the distance will sport a ragged moustache.
5
Two clueless bullies posturing. If The Donald walked his walk, he would have the meeting with KJU anyway and use his amazing sales and negotiating skills to con KJU into a one sided deal.
KJU, on the other hand should be well enough versed in all things Trump to understand that flattery will get you anywhere you want to go with his vane-ness.
I don't know much about KJU's brain-trust - but take a good gander at ours: The Donald - Pence - Bolton - Pompeo - Jarvanka - Kelly - not exactly the best and the brightest.
If only North Korea had golf courses!
2
Poor South Korean Moon trying to accomplish a summit between belligerent bullies, neither of whom has a firm grasp on reality or reason.
One insult too far and ka-blam! South Korea gets smushed.
Can we all now agree that the 1st Pompeo trip to North Korea never happened? Trump needed something dramatic to push Pompeo's faltering nomination as Secretary of State over the confirmation finish line. He got Kim to play along with the charade, probably telling Xi Jinping it was OK for China to ease trade sanctions on North Korea. The photo shopped pictures--which took days to produce--of Kim and Pompeo shaking hands were laughably lame. Just compare them to the real photos of Pompeo's 2nd (real) trip and you'll see what I mean.
Now Kim had Trump hooked and reeled him in. He released the hostages, prompting Trump's supporters to chant "Nobel Prize!" as our commander-and-thief basked in the possibility of making not just money, but history. And now Kim reverts to his bellicose barking and a neutered Trump finds himself scrambling not to screw up his trip to Sweden. Well played, Kim!
I am not so sure how much Kim and Trump wish for a summit to eventually take place. As this piece mentions, Kim has already attained concessions, and a sort of reconciliation, with both China and particularly South Korea. I believe Kim's motives were always ulterior with no true desire to denuclearize. Power and ruthlessness are inherited and etched into his DNA. The best we could have ever gotten was to employ an Iran-like agreement, but that will never be, at least on this president's watch.
There were always red flags woven into this ominous relationship between Kim and Trump. Nicholas states that "no one ever has made money betting on North Korean calmness." Indeed that is true. However, we find ourselves in a similar position with this mercurial, at times volatile, and impulsive president who is leaning upon and depending on the wiles and misguided agenda of John Bolton. My fear has been reawakened that these two trigger-happy so called leaders, Kim and Trump, will take us on a journey that possibly could not end well in the name of peace and world order.
3
After North Korea's aggressive response to Bolton's use of the Libyan Model, it should have been obvious that they would react similarly to Pence's use of the same model. So why did Pence use it? Seems like they were looking for a similarly aggressive response to cancel the summit.
8
Hmmm....I was assuming Trump was going to goad Kim Jong into some kind of military action that would allow Trump to put the country under martial law and then use that total authority to eliminate Mueller and company.
It never occurred to me he might just start the military action on his own. But seeing how he got away with demanding the Justice Dept. investigate the very people in the Justice Dept. who are investigating him without getting any reaction or resistance from Congress he might just go ahead and take this route.
Firing Rosenstein and all the complications that would involve seems pretty much out of the question. The martial law ploy works rather nicely. And he doesn't have a worry about the Republican majority stopping him.
In any case the investigation absolutely must be stopped because if it isn't he will be ruined. Literally.
3
Trump's relationship with North Korea has always been dangerous. In other words, the volatile nature of both sides was always going to result in erratic and wildly variable outcomes. In that light, the moment that produced the agreement to meet was just a fleeting statistical likelihood.
The increased probability of nuclear war never went down from the new high that Trump's election and subsequent behavior had already established. The slope of the upward trend over time of that probability did not change either.
Mr. Kim will never give up his nuclear weapons without a smart knowledgeable diligent sustained effort by well educated experts who are skilled in diplomacy and negotiation. America is blessed with the Trump team.
Bolton: "Libya is the model for North Korea." Trump: "Why have nuclear weapons if I can't use them?" Pompeo, after holding secret talks with North Korea, referred to Mr. Kim as "Chairman Un."
This has all been a clear victory for Kim who has been a step ahead of the White House since the Olympics. Trump has given away the store but gotten nothing for it. This has all been an abject failure for Trump and his "very best" sycophants.
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Let’s remember all the other nuclear wars liberals fretted over...you liberals have more ways for the world to end...remember the phony nuclear freeze movement,? Reagan bought the Soviets to their knees and not a bullet was shot. No more appeasement. Trump does not need the summit...North Korea does.
1
Kim Jong Un rationally and reasonably wants to remain alive and in power which is guaranteed and insured by nuclear weapons and missiles.
There is nothing rational nor reasonable about anything that Trump has proposed regarding North Korea and it's nuclear weapons. America has 48% of the planets nuclear weapons. America invented nukes and has twice used them.
Unlike Israel, North Korea is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has nuclear weapons.
Unlike Israel, Iran is also a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but has no nuclear weapons.
17
The talk did not collapse at the top. And all the sideshows are really no more than a tactic to gain the upper hand. Trump had to respond in a dramatic way in this latest round because he already silenced Bolton, and he would look weak if he ignored it or silenced Pence too. Looking weak is the lasting he would do.
The comparison with Iraq and Bush is rather flawed, btw. Bush was an ideologue bent on spreading "Almighty's gift to humanity". He made the decision to invade first and then looked for an excuse. Trump, on the other hand, is all about the ego and deal making. Trump may resort yet again to a military brinkmanship, especially if he believes that is what brought NK to the table. But NK will probably ignore it as it did leading up to the overture, and the deal making will go on.
There is nothing like a good war to make a President look tough and well, presidential. It's also really good for getting elected to a second term. Although Trump doesn't know much, I bet he is aware of that.
Pence is nothing more than DJT's lackey and being used to stir the pot as he did in the past by walking out of an NFL game when the players kneeled for the national anthem so that Trump could tweet on it. Now he is being used to threaten Kim with the "Libya model" so Trump can have a reason to pull out of talks. We have been fortunate that the narcissist-in-chief has done little permanent damage to date. That could change with the push of a button. Always remember, the Donald's self-interest "out-Trumps" everyone else's, especially the duped citizens of these United States.
45
Perhaps our best option is to impress on Mr. Trump that a nuclear exchange with North Korea will unquestionably lower the value of his properties. Especially if some of them are vaporized.
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Excellent point. That loss will not be covered by insurance.
3
I do wish Mar-a-Lago were situated on the West Coast....right in the same latitude as North Korea.
1
To China, Trump is the gift that keeps on giving.
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And to Russia.
10
Once again, Nick Kristoff educates us on international affairs. Thank you. Once again, our current potus plays the fool.
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Trump objects to Kim Jong Un insulting Mike Pence? After all the ugly names Trump has called Kim and thousands of other people, that's rich...
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... ugly names Trump called thousands of other people....including those in his own Administration!!
7
Yes, shortest Nobel Peace Prize nomination ever.
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Yes, & that surprised me. I'd've thought that he'd hang on until the last horn blew to get that but maybe he actually is realistic enough to have figured out that he'd never get it.
3
Trump has 3 problems in trying to command US troops into battle.
1. Trump is a liar, and a bad one at that. LBJ and Nixon lied about the necessity of the Vietnam War and later about our progress in the war. But they were good liars, and most people did not know at the time that they were lying. Even so, popular resistance to the war limited their options and undermined our efforts. No one will believe Trump if he tries to make a case for ground troops in Iran or N Korea.
2. Trump has over-promised his base gains in trade, immigration, health care, tax reform, etc--ALL without any pain or sacrifice. If Trump turns to the people and asks them to lay down their lives for poorly conceived or explained objectives, he will learn very quickly the true limits to his power. A minority of voters did not vote for him to inflict more pain on themselves.
3. Trump lacks the skill set to build support for military conflict (or anything else). Leadership requires much more than signing an executive order. A president may declare war, but a people go to war. The president must patiently build a case for war by citing facts and analyzing them to build the argument for the people to go to war. Sound like our commander in chief? As Rumsfeld was wrong that we must go to war with the army that we have, so we shall not go to war with the president we have.
B/L: Trump has no ability to deliver on his threats to deliver substantial boots on the ground to Iran or N Korea.
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You are sanguine about this presidents ability to make war. His base will believe anything he says or does. As such he is not or ever been POTUS, but POTB. Divide and conquer those not in his base, wherever they may reside.
As commander in chief he has a free hand. How many generals do you think will disobey a direct order?
To me, a negotiated deal with N Korea is the last thing Pence, Bolton and Pompeo ever wanted. A coup in that country, just like in Libya was always the goal. And who knows, maybe they will get their wish.
12
Only one issue, the president never leads troops into battle that is for military people. He does set policy.
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Trump doesn't know that he can't declare war, and apparently neither do the Republicans in Congress, otherwise they would have done something about the bombing in Syria. The end result is that Bolton and Pompeo will convince Trump to send troops into war and the armed services will comply. After all, another war is an excuse to try all their new toys. And to be clear, a minority of voters did vote to inflict more pain on themselves. They just didn't know it and going to war would fool them as well. If they weren't fooled, why would anyone sign up to go to the Middle East? Right now, it feels like it's entirely possible that the world as we know it will end, possibly quite soon.
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Trump looks extremely "foolish" in backing out of summit over a few words which he himself feels willing to use on a daily basis. North Korea had just shown by its behavior in publicly blowing up its nuclear test site that it was serious about "denuclearization," but not serious about giving it up as a precondition to a summit as Mike Pence demanded. Diplomacy has never really been a part of Mr. Trump's tweeting toolbox and now he looks ridiculous beyond even the famous Rex Tillerson comment of "He's a [bleeping] moron." Let's hope that both North and South Korea move ahead with their own peace plans without "Dangerous" Donald. They started the process and they can move it forward without having an unreliable, temperamental, and mentally unstable deal-breaker at the table. That's our best, perhaps only, path forward away from nuclear brinksmanship.
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"I hope that North Korea will respond to Trump’s letter in similarly measured, calm terms. "
What?
Trump's letter was frightening, nothing measured or calm about it. In it he brags about the size of his nukes, and then, almost sarcastically, says he hopes he doesn't have to use them. We can see Trump smirking between the lines, Bolton giggling behind him. The letter is not diplomatic at all. It's a threat. And with Bolton in power with Trump, I didn't feel calm after reading it.
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Scratch any NYT pundit and with the exception of Krugman you will find a trump-normalizer.
5
The back story on this is that Trump chickened out, unwilling and frankly unable to sit in a room with the very canny if inscrutable Kim without a strategy, without even a set of rational talking points. Trump if nothing else is deeply insecure and the very likely prospect of the utter embarrassment of being flummoxed in the face of the N. Korean dictator was too much for the Donald. This administration proved again how ill prepared they are to sit with any kind of comfort at the world table. They fired (or forced out) all the experts in the State Department (they don't believe in expertise in any case) they never got around to hiring a new Ambassador to S. Korea. And they allowed Bolton to bolt the reservation with balderdash about the "Libyan Model." Really, Khadafi a model for the Un? Libyan chaos in the wake of general disintegration of a nation of heavily armed desert tribesmen really in any way a likely model for the locked down North Korean state? It would be hilarious if the Korean peninsula weren't such a dangerous place to fight any kind of war. We knew in our bones that Trump didn't have the stones for a summit. Now we know.
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He did exactly as he said he would. It looked like a meeting was worthless so he declined to go. Very simple!!!
Honestly? The only thing "simple" about this situation is the brain under Trump's ridiculous comb-over (which, by the way, is just evidence that he lies to himself as much as he lies to the rest of us.). Trump thinking this situation is "simple" is what created this mess. If he could only hold more than one perspective or possibility in his mind at once, or not be bored by facts, there may have been a chance here.
Trump continues to be inept and bumbeling! We are in a dangerous world with an unprepared and unhinged leader, with Nuclear weapons. And that's a description of both Trump and Kim. When will the GOP begin to take this threat seriously? Trump should not be the leader of the world at this time! Remove him from the Presidency, after the mid term elections , along with Pence and let's start over!
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Trump goads North Korea into some kind of military action that gives Herr Trump the excuse to put the country under martial law. Then, with total control, he eliminates Mueller and the investigation. Any doubts this could be done were eliminated when he ordered the Justice Dept. to investigate the people in that very same Justice Dept, who were investigating him, and the Republicans, most of whom are cowardly, fell right in step and didn't even raise a peep.
I can't wait for Trump's military parade. Should be awe inspiring.
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I think you're on the right track. As the Mueller vise tightens, Trump sees a preemptive strike as his Trump card.
1
Here we go with the usual quivering in fear talk from Kristoff and his like-minded appeasers that have too much sway among progressives and within the Democratic Party.
N Korea will do more sword rattling but it will come to naught because any action they take will drag China into the conflict. China is not looking for a military fight at this time, they're more concerned about keeping their economy humming along.
So, put the arm chair diplomacy aside and let DJT's jingoistic yet much needed re-aligning of our foreign relations continue to upset the deep state machinations of the global elite of Davos and others.
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Your last sentence sounds like a Prussian opinion circa 1912, with DJT instead of Kaiser. Countries end up at war even when they're not looking for it.
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Your final sentence goes on at length. I don't know what you mean by "deep state machinations of the global elites...", but I'll guess: you don't like windbags.
That is fair. However, you are faced with a choice today between diplomacy as widely practiced, and Donald's impulsive acts. If you conclude, as many do (and I'd concur) that Donald is a grossly lazy, boundlessly ignorant and totally inept fool, then you may chose to rethink your animus toward "arm chair diplomacy".
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When you used the word "appeasers" I couldn't stop laughing. Thanks.
15
It is so disheartening to have our country's leader be nothing but a blowhard.
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He is also an empty suit - don't sell The Donald short.
2
The white male and female voters wanted unpredictability and manly bluster
We got it.
Happy now?
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Those weren't "female voters". They were Stepford Wives.
2
Okay okay , I will go buy can of beans, rice and water and dry milk so we can survive the nuclear armageddon.
With Trump I have no hope, we will ever see 2020.
9
Reading about the US - North Korea relationship, I can not find head or tails in what the US really wants.
Trump seems to want a peace treaty (and a Nobel peace prize)
Bolton wants a preempty strike and a regime change
Mike Pence might want to keep having this frozen conflict
3
Trump is scaring THIS country more than he's scaring anyone in North Korea. I'm not surprised that he's chickened out at the last minute. That - along with bankruptcy and the "Art of the Backroom" Deal are the three ways his showboating concludes. Just bear that in mind while reviewing this idiot's track record for the last 30 years or so.
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A pox on Bolton.
So now we are back to two men with bad hair cuts on the path for starting a nuclear war. Two men who could end up destroying life on this planet as we know it. It would be beyond tragic.
25
Actually, you have hit upon the common thread here - The Donald has his swirleydoo - KJU has that lump of hair on his dome - Pence has a five year old boy's doo - Bolton thinks that he is a 1960's beach boy(I will not even mention the white caterpillar beneath his nose) - Kelly has hair deficit - Jarvanka? Not sure what to make of as bland a doo as has ever existed.
Perhaps we are on the brink of Nuclear winter because of hair envy?
4
Yes, and button envy.
We really have to stop yanking ourselves around about the nuclearization of North Korea. Imagine a North Korea with nuclear weapons. What would they do with them? Clearly, not use them offensively and face certain total destruction. There will be no use of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.
Yes, there is the risk of such weapons escaping into the hands of a truly ideologically crazy group such as ISIS, but that risk is already there with the number of nukes currently available around the world. No country, including North Korea, would want to be identified as the source should this happen.
So I've switched back from dreading the death of the U.S. republic, if Trump could claim a win on the world stage, to dreading the death of civilization.
9
"The cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un creates a risk that President Trump will revert to military options." Gee, ya think? Bolton, Trump and the vunerable Republicans up for re-election in mid-terms 2018 know the best way to rally the country around them is to start a nice bloodbath war. So who cares if American troops stationed in the DNZ, South Koreans, Japanese, American possessions in the Pacific Ocean and possibly American cities may be "taken out" by some of Kim Jung Un's nukes, heh?
7
It would be comforting to think that only "Trump’s Relationship With North Korea Just Got More Dangerous". Willing or not, we are all along for this broken carnival ride. Buckle up.
9
When multiple wars break out, will there be a draft? Will these who have infiltrated our democracy send their families to die?
Trump is real good with messing up Other People's Property. He is a real cheap cop-out.
2
I shudder to think what this cancellation and the future actions of Donald J. Trump will do to the hands of the Doomsday Clock.
Let no one forget that the rise of the Nazis and Adolph Hitler was abetted by victories in ELECTIONS. The votes of all Americans in November will have enormous consequences.
5
Trump is a naturally belligerent individual. His father sent him to military school to try and stop him from continually starting fights. It didn't work, and now he is on the world stage with nuclear weapons.
13
I read Mr. Trump's letter, and found this sentence chilling: "You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used."
To my ears, this sounded like a threat and a confirmation of his willingness to use nuclear weapons on a massive scale. I wonder how this language is perceived by the North Koreans.
Dangerous times, indeed.
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The winner here is John Bolton, who never wanted the summit to happen because he just prefers to use military force on any country with whose governance he disagrees. The loser is anyone with an ounce of hope that better angels would prevail.
15
"Trump's Relationship with North Korea Got a Lot More Dangerous." No, Mr. Kristof, the international situation for our citizens just got a lot more dangerous. Trump will never, ever pay a price for his ignorant, hateful, disgusting behavior. But the rest of us will.
Trump voters have no grasp of the magnitude of harm they've done to our country, and they never will. Their support of him remains lock solid. And yet, they will suffer as badly as the rest of us.
Because of Trump's actions with North Korea and Iran, and his trashing of decades-long alliances with the nations of Western Europe, we, American citizens, have become a lot less safe. Our nation is a laughingstock at best, and a pariah at worst. What decent nation would ever think to come to our aid now, or form an alliance with us, should we need it? And no, we cannot go it alone. No nation can. We are no exception.
Trump admires dictators such as Putin, and has said so publicly. He sees himself in their image. And he sees us in the image of citizens in totalitarian regimes -- faceless, without rights, without a voice.
But do not forget, ever, how we got here. Trump voters are responsible for the staggering loss of international standing our nation has suffered in just over one year. They should all be ashamed of themselves. But for their actions, we, and many other citizens of other nations, would be living in a much safer world right now.
19
Added point to this excellent article. Trump's bluster has turned out to be just that, his threats may have been believable at one point and they have become a transitory smoke cloud with no flames.
Trump is rapidly losing credibility on the international stage. Any benefit of doubt is dwindling. Backing out of the nuclear treaty after European nations begged Trump to take a middle ground is one of the final straws that has led them to realize that they are on their own. Trump can't be counted on to live up to his word or America's prior commitments. Trump's hard core financial stance towards China has withered in his apparent higher sympathy for ZTE employees than Americans. He can't be believed or trusted.
Bombast and threats only work as deal makers when the heavy handed negotiator follows through. Trump has repeatedly made threats around the world, then pivots and changes his mind.
Trump's and America's credibility is gone, perhaps for a generation or more.
155
Trump has done his worst to isolate the United States. This can only have emboldened Kim. To paraphrase, a world divided cannot stand against a rogue regime.
8
So last week the NYT editorialists were arguing that Trump had backed himself into a corner where he had to give the North Koreans all they wanted because it was impossible for him to back out of the meeting.
Now we have the New York Times editorialists arguing that Trump was wrong to back out of the meeting.
Nothing like being condemned if you do and condemned if you don't.
It appears that the worst that has happened is the US is back a square one when dealing with North Korea. Or perhaps this is just the first round of two negotiators feeling each other out.
As I recall this is not the first time that North Korea has played this kind of diplomatic game. The negotiations for the current cease fire line between North Korea and South Korea in 1953 had a similar process.
I predict that if Trump trys to implement a military solution to solve a diplomatic problem, he will be relieved of command. We're still paying for the phoney Iraq war which they estimate will be around 2 to 3 trillion dollars, depending on interest rates. I suspect one of the reasons Paul Ryan retired early was because he sees cuts in the government entitlements coming, besides the obvious reason he doesn't want to be aassociated with the Tweeter in Chief. He's not even 50 years old.
2
Perhaps, at least, this is a teachable moment. Somebody should write a column comparing a checklist for good negotiating with what Trump has done with North Korea. One such list is Seth Freeman's I FORESAW IT, about how to prepare for a negotiation. Point by point, Trump got it wrong. Here's a very short version of the list, since there is so little space here. The full list is available on Freeman's website.
Interests: Why do we each want what we say we want?
Factual and Financial Research: What do you need to learn?
Options: Brainstorm possible deal terms.
Rapport, Reactions and Responses: Seek a constructive, optimistic, genuine approach.
Empathy and Ethics: Put yourself in the other person's shoes.
Setting and Scheduling: Many considerations, e.g. Negotiating in the public eye often makes it harder for each negotiator to make concessions without losing face.
Alternatives to agreement: If there's no deal, what will you do instead?
Who- : Who can influence the outcome of the talks besides the one you will negotiate with?
Independent Criteria: What objective standards can you appeal to so the other person sees your offer is fair and reasonable?
Topics, Targets, and Tradeoffs: Set an agenda, develop goals, prioritize and add some promising creative options.
That's the list. If you haven't already, go over each item and plug in what Trump has done with North Korea. It's tragic.
1
Great comment. But you are assuming Trump is a negotiator. He's not.
I don't know what scale Mr. Kristof uses to measure the "more dangerous" state of US-DPRK relations. In view of recent public statements by NK, this was a prudent move on our part.
Although it seems as though Mr. Bolton needs to be kept on a somewhat shorter leash, if Kim were serious about meaningful negotiations, this matter would not have wrecked the opportunity being dangled before NK.
A more likely explanation for Kim's reaction was that - having impulsively suggested a summit with Trump - he began to fidget when it became clear that he would have to put some real proposals on the table. Sort of like the dog who chases a car, then doesn't know what to do when he catches it.
Sounds like Kim is asking for a return of more "maximum pressure." Is DPRK really so naïve as to think that any American president would permit them to develop nuclear weapons capable of striking the U.S.?
The chicken hawks who prefer the status quo deliberately sabotaged this summit. Between the military exercises the US and South Korea engaged in and the unfortunate comments about Libya that Pence and Bolton made of course Kim Jong-Un reacted the way he did. China, South Korea and North Korea all want peace. Thanks to Trump we're the outliers here. Diplomacy is preferable to war and it's up to the people of North Korea to decide if they want regime change. Let's be reasonable here.
70
We've been holding those military exercises twice a year for decades. Decades. We hold them the same times each year, and every single time NK has complained they are designed to escalate tensions but they aren't; they are designed so the ROKA and USA can train together. Don't get dramatic.
6
The president personally declined regime change, directly on the air. Now you might not believe him but if a treaty with conditions was made it would be fine and binding on future presidents, unlike say Obama agreements.
2
And the exercises are very limited, not at all a rehearsal for invading the North. That I hope is being done in simulation.
I don't think Kim is too cowed by Trump. After Trump's fire and fury tweet, Kim proceeded to conduct his most successful ICBM tests and most powerful thermonuclear explosion.
I suspect Kim will turn his attentions to Moon and perhaps achieve some sort of tacit agreement that may bring Trump back latter. As Kristof states, holes are already appearing in the US backed economic sanctions.
It is very hard for Trump to bluff Kim, since Kim holds the ultimate leverage of Seoul and possibly Tokyo in his hands. Would Trump risk major destruction of 2 key US allies? The ultimate winner in that scenario may be none other than Xi, despite the possible fallout atomic war nearby. China would then be seen as reasonable and the only superpower in the Pacific while the US reputation would be in tatters not to mention the 30,000 dead US servicemen and the onerous economic cost of an all out war. And China could then rush troops to NK for relief and humanitarian aid and security thus gaining a foothold on the peninsula.
52
You're right, except many overestimate Kim. His countrymen are willing to die, because they have so little to lose. Kim isn't, because he doesn't. China likes that, but Kim is as vulnerable as Trump. Weak leaders go to war.
4
I do not think the catastrophic scenarios described by your reasonable thought process enter into the primitive equations used by a man that has characterized himself as a “stable genius”.
9
Of course the president would risk damage to those two countries to prevent damage to the US. After all he places our interests ahead of theirs. And with the right plan and execution damage would be acceptable.
3
Mike Pence, presumably carefully scripted by White House staff (Bolton himself?) used the "Libyan model" as a good example for North Korea. Presumably his preppers knew full well that such language would provoke a quick and heated response from North Korea.
I don't think Pence would have said anything of the sort without clearance. Unless the White House is far more disorganized than I suppose.
114
The White House is far more disorganized than you suppose. Bolton threw a bomb, Fox put Pence in the position of either repudiating Bolton (Trump's new fave, for the moment) or agreeing with him and Pence as always chose the option least likely to make his boss sad. There was zero premeditation on Pence's part--Bolton played him like a puppet. It's not unlikely Bolton contacted his Fox friends and fed them lines for playing Pence.
25
I agree. After the recent reaction to Bolton's comments, the only reason Pence would also refer to the "Libya model" would be to provoke North Korea. Seems like deliberate sabotage by the trump administration.
30
To anyone with any knowledge of the history between North Korea and the US would suspect that Kim Jong-un has been toying with the president for his own political purposes. And no doubt Trump has been using this for his own political gain within the US. I never once considered that this summit would actually take place, and I can only shake my head at the naive House Republicans who nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize thinking that Trump's approach showed finesse or seriousness. Once again North Korea has us running in place. Given Trump's dangerous attitudes with Iran and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, he has shown himself to have anything but a peaceful or thoughtful diplomatic intention.
214
"No Nobel, No Nobel..."
Such fools.
11
These house republicans only did so to score points with Trump and sell hats and coins at rallies.
7
Today I read about the cancelled summit. So back to Trump again playing chilling games on the world stage with North Korea.
Today I also read about the NFL caving to Trumps demands about players protests.
The President of the United States has wasted so much time and energy on the harmless free speech actions of a few football players. While at the same time he also plays an insanely crazy game with North Korea with the outcome an unthinkable war.
Trump just makes my head spin and pray for voter turn out in the fall to remove some power from whatever crazy issue next holds Trumps attention, is covered by Fox news or mentioned to him by Hannity.
462
PLease do whatever you can to help voters turn out in November. We MUST stop the GOP and Trump before we're all doomed! And that is NOT hyperbole
112
Since this summit was being so hastily and foolishly planned, it's possible that its cancellation will be a blessing in disguise...IF what follows is careful, thoughtful negotiations that lead to a compromise acceptable to all sides or at least kick the can down the road until our country has more competent leadership. But with Kim having played Trump in some respects by using the potential summit to smooth relations with South Korea and China, and John Bolton and Mike Pence doing so also in their own ways via their intentionally counterproductive references to a "Libya model," it's far from clear that such negotiations will take place or succeed.
What is clear is that our president is uniquely unsuited to manage this complex, challenging situation. This is not a New York City real estate negotiation. It is a matter of war and peace.
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If I was a betting woman my money was on this would never come to pass.
Never saying anything about this because I had bee beaten down by friends and family that Trump would win the election in spite of my fear.
So I kept quiet but now there is such fear in my heart when two bullies get together.
I do hope I'am wrong
13
I think many of us - if not most - knew that. Making real estate deals with starry eyed investors hoping for a quick killing (and often left holding the bag), is entirely different from dealing with flinty-eyed foreign heads of state for whom their own national interests are "First". Trump jumped off the board before looking to see if there's any water in the pool. It won't get any better. Every belly-flop on the concrete will be characterized as a "win", and his followers will continue to believe him, no matter what.
18