You know, that picture by Doug Mills showing Trump at Andrews after the long flight back is the first picture I’ve seen where Trump actually looks like a human being. No tie, mildly dishevelled, hair not it’s usual sculptured mess and the look of weariness.
Each side gets to spin the story as they want and criticism of the deal made has to be seen within the context, of what each side might, realistically, be able to get their opposite number to accept. I suspect that Kim is living in a North Korea that needs to change or else he risks being thrown out. That means he needs sanctions lifted and money for development and food.
TRUMP: “There is no longer a Nuclear
Threat from North Korea.”
Jun 13, 2018: Trump’s tweet is stating an alternative fact, or lie.
__ __
“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war,
the Ministry of Truth with lies.”
George Orwell’s book “1984”.
3
The only disarmament will be the US agreeing to remove troops and weapons systems from SK because they are “provocative.”
3
Pompous Pompeo truly believes ALL of us are as "uneducated " as Trump voters. Not so fast, Sparky. This entire spectacle was a grand circus, playing to the rubes for the Midterms. Also, a Real Estate scouting expedition, for Donald. Luxury NK Condos coming SOON: Beachfront access, powered by deactivated Nukes, housekeeping and all other services provided by "volunteers ". Thanks, Comrades.
6
Mr. Pompeo said. “We’re prepared to execute this once we’re in position that we can actually get to a place where we can do it.”
Reminds me of the Monty Python skit “How to Do It,” except that Pompeo is less specific.
How to Disarm a Nuclear Power
By Mike Pompeo
Step 1: Get in position to get to a place to prepare.
Step 2: Once in position, get to a place to prepare.
Step 3: Actually get to a place to prepare.
Step 4: Prepare.
Step 5: Be prepared to execute.
Step 6: Do it.
Next week: Real Estate Investing Tips for Dotards & Dictators
5
Trump thinks this virtually meaningless agreement now makes us safe from nuclear threats. Putting aside his cancellation of the Iran deal for the moment, how does this not give us absolute evidence that Trump is seriously deranged?
4
The American's vastly over-estimate the pressure they can bring to bear on North Korea. This is because Trump and his cronies -- being entirely self-absorbed -- fail to realize that Kim has a much bigger problem than a posturing American man-child. He has to worry about the grown-ups running the the Chinese government. Beijing could bring down the Kim government in a day or two, merely by closing the border. Beijing would also very much like to see a more moderate (and subservient) government running North Korea.
Kim's senior officers are all very aware of this. They are also aware that -- for the last ten years -- it has only been the threat of vaporizing Seoul or Tokyo (or both) which has prevented the Chinese government from initiating a regime change and shooting them all. Kim would be dead within five minutes of doing anything substantive in the way of giving up North Korea's nuclear deterrent, and he knows it.
3
" Expected ". That's like a little bit pregnant. Or NOT.
Ridiculous.
6
Another bootlicker answers the call. NEXT!
2
HA!HAHA!!HAHAHAHA...." Pompeo is delusional, a liar or a moaon. Or all three.
2
The only difference between this "summit" and the multi-party talks of the past is that NK got what they've wanted for the last 50+ years in one brief meeting, with no specifics or commitments as to future disarmament. Both sides got PR victories, the glow will fade, there will be no changes, and any questions asked by the US press down the road will be met with charges of "inappropriate questions!"
A serious debacle all around, to be cleaned up by the next president (who can't come soon enough).
4
This isn't just about the American left needing to spin this as a failure for Trump because they want to increase their chances of Democrat gains during the midterms (though they certainly want that). The more extreme of their ilk the world over want to see capitalism itself defeated. They would much rather see North Korea remain an oppressive socialist state with nukes than run the risk of it in the future becoming a peaceful and successful capitalist nation like their southern cousins.
If you doubt the above, spend time perusing The Guardian's website where self-described socialists and communists are much more open about what they are and what they want. Any Trump victory is seen as an existential threat to their ideology.
There will be n reduction of military force directed at continuing to cow the North Korean people into being totally servile to Kim and the cadre he trusts at the moment. Were Kim to in anyway appear to have softened his is as dead as were such thugs as Idi Amin, Gaddafi in the angry hands of others or like cowardly Nero what had is secretary deliver a fatal blow to keep him from being torn apart by others. Trump reaching out in pretending to seeking peace does not come of any noble concern for others, it is driven by the same need of Kim to first, last and always hold onto power in aggrandizement of himself.
2
I'm still surprised Trump isn't crowing to be awarded the Nobel prize.
2
Not to worry. That tweeting is coming soon.
Trump got played like a cheap violin. This time, when he declared political bankruptcy, it won’t just be his creditors who get hurt.
11
Doesn't take two and a half years to provide a complete inventory and begin imbedding IAEA verification monitors.
4
Yes. it would take at least two years to get an inspections regime in place. There are hundreds of nuclear sites in North Korea. Pompeo is blowing smoke big time. But the MAGA-heads will never take the time to consider that he and Trump are lying once again.
3
Writers below seem to have no concept of the workings of face-to-face dealing with people in the Eastern World. Deals in business and politics in that part of the World do not proceed as a Game of War where one side wins and the other loses. In any deal with Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc. one must be certain that a perception of "win-win" is the result and there are no "Winner - Loser" feelings in the deal. President Trump understands this concept and few professional politicians or media pundits grasp this important mannerism of dealing in the Far East. President Trump made certain that Kim Jong-un walked away from their meeting with a comfortable feeling that concessions would be made to his nation in return for those he would give to President Trump, and indeed, to the World.
4
JoeP....so Trump's strategy is brilliant in North Korea but the Iran agreement must be shredded because ???
President Donald Trump is such an international maestro ?
Looking forward to your rationalization.
14
Dream on. You give trump far too much credit for rational thought.
2
Iran "agreement" must be redone to include Trust but Verify.
And President Trump has successfully done business in more than fifty nations prior to his Presidency.
"First term", ugh what a terrible implication!
3
just in time for the 2020 election. Ha!
1
Policies, schmolicies. One word that does not appear in this article is "inspections." I do see the word "verifiable" but that comes from a nuclear weapons expert outside the administration. (Sorry, is "outside the administration" redundant?)
2
Plain and simple.
Trump ran for president promising conservative judges.
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising new trade policies that would strengthen America
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising he would move the US embassy in Israel back to Jerusalem, God's chosen place for the Jews.
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising that black and other minorities would prosper with work and make millions of new jobs for minorities.
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising no one would mess with us and that he valued peace but would use force against any nation that double crosses us.
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising he would get out of the IRAN deal and redo NAFTA.
He did just that.
Trump ran for president promising we would win, win, and win.
We won the 2025 world cup in America.
He did just that
Trump promised he would end the disastrous Obama care
He did just that
Trump promised he would get rid off many red tape regulations when he ran for president.
He did just that
I'm waiting on the wall
I'm waiting on prayer returning to public school
I'm waiting on teacher empowerment and corporal punishment being re-instated in public school
Aside from that America and America FIRST is helping me to sleep better at night.
4
You're driving the libs insane by pointing out what Trump has accomplished!
Really. So far his trade policies are causing trade wars with our allies. And all that complaining about China, well the Chinese tech co. got unbanned while our allies are getting banned.
No one was messing with us in the 1st place. And the US has always used force where it wanted.
Hasn't redone NAFTA yet, no wall, except there may be one built between us and Canada.
Pulled out of an agreement that stopped Iran from developing nuclear weapons. If it wasn't for the fact the other countries refused to pull out, Iran might be developing those nukes.
Getting the world cup is a win, win win.
The ACA is still in place. But Trump has made it worse and is promising to make health care even worse in the future.
Red tape, allowing industries to poison us again like they use to is a lose, lose, lose.
Prayer is never going to come back to public schools, nor is corporal punishment, fortunately.
Teacher empowerment means stronger teacher unions which the republicans have been trying to destroy. Teachers are fighting back against the republican drive to destroy education in the US, so empower those teachers.
You have been played bigly. The rest of us are going to live in the 21st century, not the 18th century like you wish.
8
I reckon you have great paid for health care. Thus don't care about the rest of US.
2
Within Trump’s First Term!
Trump will be lucky to avoid prison by 2020.
Never normalize trump. He’s the worst disgrace in presidential history.
10
“Some time?” What’s “some time,” Mr. Secretary?
President Obama got Iran to shut down its bomb-producing apparatus in months. You guys got played. Big time.
11
The only concrete thing that came out of this summit was lunch.
6
And Kim was so trusting of Trump that he packed his own.
3
Who wanted this grand Photo Op most -- the hereditary sovereign of a closed state or the one who pretends to be a constitutional monarch out to prove his clever boldness in time for the ... well, the midterms?
6
When the crisis is defused, we can all line up to purchase beautiful, beach front condominiums in North Korea. (Any takers?)
5
This whole reality show was a cruel joke. It was played by a willfully ignorant circus clown in cahoots with the world's worst despotic human rights violator.
Kim could comfortably stop all testing now, secure in the knowledge his adversaries have to view him as having credible nuclear and ICBM capabilities (plus massive stocks of chemical, biological, and conventional weapons). And then he can slow walk or use deliberate deception for his supposed disarmament until Trump is gone.
Trump's main goals were self aggrandizement, self enrichment, and self preservation. Whatever words he says and deeds he does need to be seen primarily through that lens. Remember, Mueller is relentlessly closing in. Michael Cohen, a less than honorable thief, is probably close to cooperating with the Feds. Four high ranking Trump campaign officials have been indicted and three are cooperating with Mueller. Barring a rightwing anti-constitutional coup, Trump's days in office are numbered.
Speaking of cruel jokes: Two world class liars walk into a resort bar and announce they're now best friends. Of course no ones laughing because, at the end of the day, they're still lying sociopaths with nukes.
9
Our realty tv host leader tells us to "sleep well" after a meeting that had no real results, comparably to similar previous meetings. Anybody who watched him bathe in the glory of the day, when international journalists were addressing him humbly and he was rambling on about his intelligence and deal making super powers, must have come away with the same conclusion that I drew: this insecure, narcissistic bully was given tranquilizers and mood altering medication to make it through the day. His mood flips, tweeting habits and complete lack of social boundaries seem to evidence a person being medicated with antidepressants and anti anxiety medication. This guy is high most of the time, to put it simply.
7
No disrspect intended, but what else is Mr. Pompeo supposed to say -- especially if he wants to keep his job?
Meanwhile, time will bear this all out. And we'll all know the truth if the U.S. and North Korea find themselves at loggerheads again, while a new Trump Hotel & Casino is being built in Pyongyang.
5
The ONLY thing the agreement did was poison our relations with another bunch of allies including South Korea and Japan, and call off rehearsals for retaliating n of the destruction of Seoul.
6
I'm no Trump fan, but let's give this thing a chance. Maybe Kim is like a schoolyard bully who just really needs to feel a sense of belonging. So the principal gives him some kind of leadership job to do and the bullying stops. It's not a direct analogy, but maybe coming to the table with the US will, meet some internal needs that Kim has that drives him to nuclearize, etc.
1
Trump has already destroyed his chances for a Nobel Prize by his actions. Failing to ratify the Paris Agreement, tearing up the Iran deal, straining the trans-Atlantic partnership to the brink, belittling democracies and coddling dictators are not the actions of a Nobel Laureate.
4
Trump followed Kim down the rabbit hole of fantasy. Kim is playing Trump like a fiddle while Trump dismantles our military exercises with South Korea with nothing to show for it. Standard Trump "deal" . Maybe Putin can help him out again.
1
What if you are wrong. What if Trump is right?
1
I'll break this down to it's simplest terms; hope all you want, but expect nothing. Trump got trumped.
Period.
3
Pulling troops out of Korea, with zero benefits?
Was this not the Chinese plan to make China Greater?
The same policy in 1930 did not work out so well.
The North will invade South Korea.
1
Let's be fair to Neville Chamberlain. A charitable interpretation and possibly a true one is that he knew what he did and thought he was buying time due to British unreadiness. British munitions production went into high gear immediately after Munich. That doesn't mean Chamberlain did the right thing. It just means that he is not the dolt that history makes him out to be. But, now to Trump. The comparison is not apt. Kim is a bully but it's the U.S. that has the power and Kim is not suicidal. There was no need to meet with him and no need to sell out the South. We could have proposed the beginning of diplomatic meetings without preconditions - including no lifting of sanctions as a precondition. That would have been the sensible thing to do, which is what Tillerson was proposing. Whatever. We just need to get Trump out of there.
1
I find it rather interesting that in the actual document from Singapore, Mike Pompeo is roped into the ongoing future talks by name and title; Pompeo gets named by name, but Kim can swap out diplomats and send anybody he wants - he can basically order the dog catcher or his personal chef to negotiate with Pompeo, if he feels like it, and still keep the agreement.
Why is Pompeo in particular, so important to Kim, to be mentioned in the document by his actual name, while none of their individual diplomatic people are important to Trump, not even specifying a certain job title or diplomatic level, to negotiate with Pompeo. What's up with that?
Have you *ever* heard of a treaty or international agreement between two countries, that mentioned the required ongoing involvement of some specific individual, by name, as part of the document, instead of merely by title? What happens to this "deal" when Pompeo is (inevitably) no longer at State?
3
That is interesting, it means the deal can be sunk if Pompeo is fired. Which with Trump is always possible.
I wonder if N. Korea doesn't trust Trump's word at all and thus needs Pompeo's name on the agreement. They might see him as more trustworthy. Not that it would stop Trump from throwing away the agreement anyways.
There is no substance to this "agreement" and Pompeo knows it. This is all smoke and mirrors meant to fill up a news cycle with more Trumpian lies.
Vote in November to place serious institutional checks around this cultist and remove some of those who have consumed the poison from our midst.
4
The proof of disarmament will be placed in Al Capone's vault for the exciting live on air reveal by none other than Geraldo Rivera.
4
I can't believe how badly Trump got snookered
2
Sadly, I can.
5
We lose again, with mr bankruptcy con-man, trump, "at the helm." He gave up war games, agreed to loosen sanctions, and otherwise probably will give a bunch of cash to NK. Kim gets what he wanted and doesn't even have to give up his nukes.
Vote in November.
5
We can now see why he tore up the deal with Iran - too many details!
6
I just spoke to General William Westmoreland, my commander in Vietnam 50 years ago. He confirms what Secretary Pompous has said and also told me that he "sees a light at the end of the tunnel." So there!
4
I’ll see your Westmoreland and raise you a Neville Chamberlin.
1
Emerging from a deep slumber, I stumble into the Trump and Pompeo diplomatic world of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical realism.
Kim will disarm. Why most certainly. Verification you ask. Leader (Trump) says it so, so it is. A win for everyone in Macondo.
As I type, sanctions already begin to leak on the Chinese border. Kim strode across the world stage with the Colossus (USA) as an equal.
At that time, Kim must have had similar feelings to those of the infamous General Giap when his T-54 tanks breached the gates of the Saigon Presidential Palace and Giap remarked " Today I make my ancestors proud."
1
Trump needed to convey a win for his political career. But who’s to check whether we, the world, are truly safer? Who is to monitor and accurately report the progress (or non-progress)? Trump, Pompeo & their surrogates? It will be difficult for our Western allies to get past those gatekeepers. And so we gain insight into Trump’s recent rantings about Trudeau and the G7. The MO: Discredit, demonize, alienate anyone or anything that can expose the truth, stand in the way. Even if the G7 got passed the gatekeepers, who would listen to Western allies, after all, our Western allies are the demons who are not looking out for our best interests. Ah, Putin’s boy (or dupe-history will show which) has done Putin's bidding well.
3
pompeo just tipped his hand and let everyone know that the stench of the 2020 elections will be the driving force in korea policy decisions; now nothing the administration says or does regarding nk has credibility.
south korea should tell the u.s. to start moving their military out and begin in earnest normalization with nk by resuming cultural exchanges and trade; there's going to be a natural inclination to disregard u.s. led and imposed sanctions anyway as a result of the summit so they can move things along with full trade.
hate to say it but the u.s. will just muck things up and create problems with policies and actions designed with u.s. interests first when it's the viability of the korean peninsula that should matter most.
time for the u.s. to stop acting like an imperial power.
1
Presumably the North Korean "major disarmament" deal will have tougher terms than those of the Iran agreement, which Trump thought "terrible" and walked away from.
3
Considering there are no terms yet and Trump is talking about ending joint military exercises and withdrawing troops while he has gotten nothing in return that can be verified. I would say, the terms will be far less stringent and only vaguely hinted at.
It reminds me of a Babylon 5 episode where Lando is leaving for somewhere and Var is placed in charge of negotiations with the G'narrs. Lando's last words were "Don't give up the home world."
I fear that Trump is Var and has just given up the home world.
1
We’re prepared to execute this once we’re in position that we can actually get to a place where we can do it.” That sounds like at least three steps removed from even beginning to come to an agreement. We need more than a $15 million photo op. And we definitely need verification of what was actually promised in this private meeting.
4
How convenient that Trump will have an opportunity to get back to Kim to sign a new "agreement" just before the next Presidential election.
I wonder if Kim will just agree to further review the denuclearization or something more "substantial" ... like stating he will dismantle a non-functioning prototype sometime this decade.
2
Rah Rah! MAGA! MAGA! MAGA! Listen to Pompeo hype the one-day "summit" in Singapore.
This pie-in-the-sky nonsense by Pompeo is completely absurd and unrealistic. Just in logistical terms, North Korea would need years to "disarm" completely, and that assumes that they actually want and intend to do it.
There is a lot of heavy lifting ahead assuming North Korea is in any way sincere. It will definitely NOT happen before Trump leaves office.
Trump has been played--and Pompeo is enabling this utter fantasy.
Sadly, the MAGA-heads out there have no clue what is going on, but they love the Rah Rah junk coming out of the Trump White House. I guess that substitutes for real diplomacy.
5
Here we go...the clawback from post-meeting ebulliance. 2 years then 4 and then and then..chained to asking for aid and more aid, etc...we've been pulled by the nose down the same path before with DPRK.
4
As much as I can hope for a quick resolution of a denuclearized N. Korea, the skeptic in me knows that, as Lawrence O'Donnell put it, "Two liars walk into a room". I think I know how this ends.
2
Trump's statements on this would be much easier to believe if he wasn't a serial liar. He lies so much it's now hard to believe anything the man says. It's really very sad it's come to this -- but it has.
4
@NYTimes, the headline you have selected does not match the content of your article. Maybe a better headline is "No one knows what happened, no one knows what happens next"
5
Pompeo is lying about the progress of the talks.
Trump got nothing and he made major concessions that prove that Pyongyang will give up nothing in these negotiations.
The President of the United States is a pathological liar, and Pompeo is lying too.
This "summit" meeting between these two moronic barbarians is a spectacle that only served to message Trump's craven, depraved and evil SuperEgo.
May God Save the World from Donald Julius Trump.
5
The Art of the [Bad Deal].
5
Does anyone in this administration realize at best they have 2 years to get a deal done that is not on paper yet? Not only that Pompeo has no experience with the State department. The clown show continues!
2
And now, here's Mike Pompeo with today's "Alternative Facts from Trumplandia." Take it away, Mike. . . .
4
It will take years to clean up his mess.
5
I love how Pompeii is hinting that Trump will have a second term. This summit was just a photo op for both men. In the past, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump have proven to be liars. Let’s not make our reservations for the Nobel ceremony yet.
Vote in November!
8
Kim is very good at his job of being a ruthless dynastic dictator, doing what such leaders have done since ancient times -- ruling by fear; killing potential rivals, including family; feigning divinity; making courtiers grovel for favor and vie with one another. He will NEVER give up the only weapon that makes his poor little country to fearsome to invade. He is too clever and suspicious ever to bargain them away, especially for an erratic narcissist like Trump. We must reconcile with the fact that NK, like Pakistan, is a nuclear power.
4
Why should we believe Pompeo. Does this administration EVER tell the truth, Besides let's see the actual agreement, signed before we hear all of this conjecture and the con. Maybe this "deal" is like trump's wall that Mexico was going to pay for.
5
Golly-gosh. I wonder why it is that so many of my supposedly-liberal friends have become jingoist hardliners, recently.
What do you suppose could have prompted this apparent philosophical conversion?
1
Probably the same reason that prompts me to wonder why so many of my supposedly-conservative friends have recently considered it patriotic to loathe US institutions like the FBI and to favor Russian proliferation; seemingly contrarian philosophies to those they've pronounced their entire adult lives.
4
And again, conservatives project their faults onto others: having cheered Trump threats of nuclear war, they now quote “Imagine”....and accuse liberals of flip flopping.
People living in a rational, moral, or fact based universe didn’t cheer Trump’s threats of Armageddon or his subsequent Neville Chamberlin imitation or his lying about the results or Pompeo’s walking it back. Only Trump fans are on that merry go round.
2
It's called living in reality instead of fantasyland like republicans do.
1st we had threats of nuclear war from trump. Now we are best buds with N.Korea. Trump is praising someone who every conservatives was calling one of the most brutal and worse dictators in the world. Yet conservatives are now fawning all over Trump for a fantastic deal which is not even written.
So which is it, mortal enemy as conservatives were saying or best buds as Trump says?
If bouncing around from one opposite position to another is winning, I have had too much.
Trump threw away a deal where Iran was not going to build nuclear weapons. A deal which was being verified. A deal that included other countries to support and watch over the deal to make sure that Iran did not renege.
Yet now we have a non-written agreement that N.Korea will dismantle their nuclear program (which keeps them safe from regime change) and in return, Trump is already freezing joint military ventures and is talking about withdrawing US military forces. All with no real agreement, nothing but a promise from the North that means how much exactly given the track record that conservatives kept bringing up before this triumph of masterful negotiation where the US is willing to give up things all before the North even has to do anything.
If that is the art of the deal, I can see why Trump failed with so many business ventures.
Trump has been played.
No country has ever been compelled to abandon its nuclear weapons arsenal. To believe NK will be the first is delusional.
The only country to have successfully built nuclear weapons and subsequently dismantled them is South Africa, and then no one outside of their government even knew about it until two years later.
According to NPR, "Three former Soviet republics — Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan — inherited nukes when the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, and then gave them up." I'm guessing Ukraine might have had some regrets.
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/05/08/526078459/giving-up-nu...
1
IF this leads to a bonafide agreement, it’s got to top the internationally endorsed, verifiable, long-term Iran deal on which this administration foolishly pulled the plug. I’m skeptical.
4
The administration is all about making promises with no follow through. Declare victory, move on and pretend something has changed. Plan B is blame Hillary and/or Obama.
7
Kim is quietly laughing at us, with Xi and Putin.
Trump has declared SK has already agreed to give up nukes, and later the same day Pompeo says we have to wait years for “major disarmament”, eg, nothing about denuclearization or CVIP?
Trump’s Munich Moment vs Pompeo’s preemptive giving up.
1
Major disarmament? You mean YUGE disarmament, the best disarmament! We've never seen any disarmament like this!
So many things going on here. First of all, North Korea didn't spin the results in their favor, the results WERE in their favor. Point blank. Trump gave them more than they could have ever hoped for - the extent of which can't even be known, really - in exchange for... nothing.
Another point, regarding North Korea's claims of what was promised: the potential for major problems resulting from not having note takers in the Trump-Kim meeting (it was only the two of them and their interpreters) was predicted and there were warnings. I mean let's face it, Trump lies every day in the best of times, and the only other source of information is one of the world's most barbaric dictators. So now what we have is a "he said, he said". Which is a major problem, and one that was foreseen.
Let's be realistic here: Trump not only got steamrolled, he has now backed himself into a corner with all his "the nuclear threat is over" and "sleep well, the world is safer" commentary. Now he HAS to deliver, under an artificial timetable provided today by his SecState to boot. The pressure is not on Kim, it's on Trump. And Trump gave away all of his leverage in 40 minutes, again, in exchange for absolutely nothing.
Folks, this is amateur hour.
4
This is playing out according to script. This guy Trump tantalizes us with his “it’s off again, on again” ruse. The meeting is all smiles, body language, glowing words. Of course to all of that. There was no way , according to the reality TV script that Trump loves, that this meeting would be anything but successful.
Forget about details....there are few or none. Trump’s base and most of the GOP Congress don’t care. All of this was so very very predictable. We’ ll be hearing about this “victory” endlessly under the midterm elections, and, I fear that it has spoiled any chance of even a mild Democratic victory.
Trump will, of course, be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and he’ll likely win a second term.
In all of my 70+ years, I’ve never been so pessimistic about our country.
4
Pompeo sees great progress the same way Trump sees huge crowds at his inauguration -- with a liberal application of fantasy.
8
Anyone wonder why Russia media are saying that Singapore was a "victory" for Kim over Trump? So odd, since it was Russia's leader who suggested to Trump that he withdraw American troops from the Korean Peninsula if he wanted talks with Kim.
Did Putin play Trump, and is the goal to leave Asia without American protection?
9
My opinion, you've hit the nail right on the head. Can anyone still doubt that Trump is in the service of Russia?
1
Trump got nothing and gave North Korea - and Russia - everything they wanted.
Can someone please find out what Russia has on Trump? At this point it's impossible to escape the idea that he's working for Putin, not the USA.
10
Trump and his crew remind of the 1930s when Neville Chamberlain had a meeting with Herr Hitler and declared "Peace for our times." After one meeting with Rocket Man, "Trumperlain" is declaring the N.K is no longer a nuclear threat. Nevermind that there is no such proof of this promise, just Trumperlain's gut feeling that Rocket Man can be trusted, because, you know, they bonded. Chamberlain also bonded with Herr Hitler, to his ever-lasting shame. History repeating itself?
11
One point. At least Chamberlain knew that Britain could not fight Germany at the time. His giveaway gave Britain time to arm itself instead of fighting a war they most likely would have lost. Britain started arming right after that agreement.
And while there was a great deal of suffering in Europe, when the war did start, Britain was in a better position.
Consider that France had no chance to stop Germany and proved that with the quick surrender.
No one was arming for war like Germany and Japan were, the US had a WWI military that had to be modernized and it took us years to do so before the US actually entered the war. Even then, the US was not prepared.
Hitler would never have been able to start a war if the rest of the world had been prepared long before Hitler made his 1st moves. There was no country that was ready for war.
Trump on the other hand has the most prepared country for war, yet is selling it down the river. He trusts his gut that Kim is a good guy. Reminds me of when Bush visited Putin and looked into his eyes and saw his soul mate. Fantasyland.
In the dark months when the Nazi's seemed poised to conquer Europe and invade Britain, imagine the effect of Winston Churchill's proclaiming, “We’re prepared to execute this once we’re in position that we can actually get to a place where we can do it.”
No doubt, South Koreans today are just as reassured to hear Pompeo's declaration, safe in the knowledge that the 40 or 60 nuclear weapons poised just north of Seoul have been single-handedly disabled by the President's prodigious charm.
7
Pompe o's optimism is quite astounding seeing as how this administration has negotiated nothing up to now. I think this will be a big lesson in humility. Seems as though Kim has already outplayed Trump.
11
While I agree with 99% of what you write, "humility" is a concept foreign to Donald Trump. If / when everything goes wrong, it will be Obama's fault.
3
The best support there is in the piece and elsewhere, based on an admittedly quick search, for the 2 - 2 and 1/2 yr expectation - so-called - is that Secy P has set timelines, which he will not reveal, but about which he is hopeful. Presumably, very hopeful.
Sorry, Secy Mike, sounds like press office puffery to this reader. Unless you've got something way better, you're diluting still further this administration's credibility.
Yes, that assumes it has any credibility left. Or had any to begin with.
7
Trump will be gone in two and a bit years, six at most. Kim Jong Un expects to be a leader for life. He only has to spin things out a bit and the present Trump circus will be out of the way, having conceded a great deal with nothing in return. Sanctions are lifted, China and Russia can now trade openly with NK, others will follow. The next American president will then have to find a way to sanction NK for non-compliance (if they ever commit to anything meaningful) and stop Russia and China from maintaining the status-quo Trump has created.
It doesn't take much imagination to see that what Trump has effectively done is give up America's role in the region, and leave Japan and South Korea to their own devices. They will reach an accommodation with China, in whichever way they can. The world and Trump's America, the America on the rise while declining as a world player, will carry on too.
13
Bush Jr. (channeling Wolfowitz and Cheney) used war to ensure his 2nd term. This is Trump's version, unless he takes us to his own war. God forbid...
3
Yes, but Trump plans to invade Canada, thus the tiff with Trudeau. MAGA. In order to do that, we must have the whole continent.
We will make Canadian beer American. Instead of Canadian bacon, it will be American bacon. Hockey will become an American sport, invented on the plantations of the south. The Royal Mounties will become a rock band.
I'm not clear why the Times is making such a big deal over what Pompeo said. What's he going to say? That the talks yielded nothing but the US giving away its leverage?
6
Sure, I, too, can see the Emperor's clothes.
5
Many readers don't want Mr. Trump to succeed, lest it might increase his approval rating or improve his chances of re-election. Does anyone have the courage and intellectual honesty just to come right out and say that ?
I did not vote for Mr. Trump, but if there was ever an occasion to support and encourage a U.S. president - any president - this is it. What does smugness and ridicule do other than make one feel superior ? Indeed, such comments give Mr. Kim leverage. This is as true when Mr. Trump's detractors do it as well as when Mr. Trump does it. We all need to grow up , stop choosing sides, and pretending that we are the intellectually superior ones.
A dose of humility would do us all good. Sadly, even though the country ( not the president) suffers from it, we gleefully stay in our corners, root for our teams, hurl insults, and could care less what effects our actions have on the country, as long as they make us feel good.
8
Spot on Mr. G. I detest trump and would like nothing more than to see his term ended ASAP. But you are right, Americans need to start coming together to reverse course and save this sinking ship. Otherwise we are going to relegated to "also ran" status.
No, the skeptical reaction is an outcome of critical thinking. No need to repeat here the reasons that the summit produced nothing to encourage the administration's sweeping claims of success. Nor do we need to review North Korea's past slipperiness on its so-called commitments.
These are verifiable facts. Not wishful thinking in Candyland.
When you combine that with outrageously and easily proven false claims by the president, you have the reaction you criticize.
Add that Trump is globally destabilizing force and your position is, unfortunately, laughable.
4
Actually, I made this comment on Monday. I loathe Trump and am doing everything I can to get rid of the Republicans in the Fall, but I read comments here that prove to me that the left wants him to fail on EVERY count, in every way. I think he will fail with North Korea, he is doing nothing but grandstanding again, but I still hope for things to change over there, for the sake of the Korean people. We have to wait and see. I too tire of the superior attitude of the left. It certainly won’t help us elect another Democrat in 2020.
1
Neither of these guys are very good at keeping their word about anything. So stay tuned while we swing into another confusing episode of "We'll See What Happens".
13
Trump has done the right thing here, exactly the right thing. Even the hokey video was the right thing.
Nothing specific has been agreed to, Trump has simply recognized elements that Kim needs to go forward. NK is aware that the US will have many requirements that NK must meet if this is to proceed, including a failsafe process for verification, elimination of the missiles pointed at Seoul, etc. Kim must be allowed to have his recognition, and he must be allowed to cheer his progress in front of his people. Trump is clearly in control, he can rattle his sword whenever he wants and halt the process, he can order the military exercises to resume. The people of NK want a better life, Kim is moving them in that direction, there is momentum developing.
A more hard line approach would get nowhere. The process is not one where a party agrees to one point in exchange for an agreement by the other party to another point - you don’t say we will cease military exercises if you take down 6 of your missiles. The process is one of agreeing to a full package, with each side getting all of what it needs to agree, and with no agreement until the full package is agreed to.
Trump understands this, and he is right. And if the effort fails, which it could, it will nevertheless be the best attempt at a Korean solution yet made by the US.
3
Strangely enough two and half years for the expected disarmament and the second term election coincide perfectly.
This administration is already preparing the trap for gullible and absentminded voters.
30
Photo OP period for all involved. The tourism in Singapore has spiked,
Trump insults our allies, hops on a plane to honor and adore Kim Jung. Trump makes Kim Jung the legitimate son of a Mad Man Dictator and Ultimately serves China to the sublime. China wants us out of South Korea Pronto. North Korea serves as China's Nuclear reserve. THAT will not change. The only thing missing is a yellow brick road. The propaganda film was rich. The propaganda we are force fed is extraordinary. We have lost our collective minds.
20
TRUMP: “There is no longer a Nuclear
Threat from North Korea.”
Jun 13, 2018: Trump’s tweet is stating an alternative fact, or lie.
“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war,
the Ministry of Truth with lies.”
George Orwell’s book “1984”.
12
Mike Pompeo there is an old saying and applies especially to you, quit while your ahead, you are getting credit and more than you deserve for being a good fit for the Secretary of State, because everyone knows who has been paying attention that you are a Trump sycophant.
North Korea is calling this a Big Win for them, because they gave up nothing and received concessions from you and Trump, appeasers.
8
Pompeo's subtext: Come on, Trump needed a photo-op! Please watch the shiny object and trust Trump to do what's best for Trump, Inc, I mean hardworking white Americans.
10
What else is he going to say?
5
Anyone can roll over and give the store away. Britain had its Chamberlain.
The United State of America has the ultimate traitor - Trump.
17
The disarmament will be brought by the Easter Bunny. Santa Clause will supply coal-powered sled to carry it. This is the lying-est bunch of people I've ever seen. They have to go.
19
As a former labor contract negotiator I can't stress enough that Trump's triumph is not an agreement. Going a bit further, giving military drills away at the first meeting with nothing in return written in stone, is hardly a sign of a savvy negotiator.
It sounds to me like our president is trying to parlay an expensive nothing burger into fame, fortune, adoration and a potential Nobel prize. I predict history won't take long to put Trump's optimism in the same category as Neville Chamberlain's infamous,"peace oin our time".
Truly, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it". Whether it It is tax cuts, the economy, thevenvironment or diplomacy, this shoe fits Trump perfectly.
21
Playing the devil’s advocate let me define “total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” from the perspective of North Korea. US military has a huge nuclear arsenal therefore denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula requires removal of all US military bases and capabilities from South Korea and a commitment from South Korea to not only commit to not perusing nuclear weapons but also not permitting any nuclear capable or nuclear powered vessels, aircraft , or vehicles on its territory. This removal of any nuclear threat to North Korea will be met with simultaneous denuclearization procedures in North Korea.
4
Maybe it’s to our advantage for Trump to set his eye on dismantling something outside of America. America on itself is doing a pretty bang up job all on its own since he got elected and hardly needs him anymore to finish it. We’ll take it from here, Donald, thanks.
4
Astonishing optimism by Pompeo that Trump will still be President of the United States for 2 more years.
25
Optimism? The gloomiest prospect I can imagine, except maybe for cancer or bankruptcy.
1
Of course North Korea is spinning like mad. Trump thought he could control leaks and "interference" from advisers by having only the two principal and their translators in the room. What he actually did was allow North Korea to be a major source of information about what was said. Great dealing there! With Trump's proven history of lying and Kim's miserable track record about anything ethical, we essentially have no idea what was discussed. Hence the NK statement that Trump said he would remove sanctions. Do we think that happened or not? The Great Deal Maker has brought us an international nuclear version of the Prisoner's Dilemma.
11
My prediction for Pompeo's major steps:
1. Huge photo op and movie trailer
2. Further discussions
3. More chatting as time allows
4. who knows....
5. Let the next President sort this out
10
When there is still no verification of denuclearization in North Korea in October 2018, who will Donald Trump blame? Kim Jong Un or Barak Obama?
8
Or the Media?
1
I'm certain that glitzy video Trump showed Kim swayed the last, best communist dictator all the joy and lucre of unbridled capitalist development.
Donald's vision is to turn DPRK into Las Vegas. Anyone think Kim buys into that?
7
watch out mike, I think you'll being seeing Washington from under the bus.
7
Need some rose-colored glasses for this spin. Wonder where Mike gets his.
6
Thank God we're safe for the first term at least!
1
Don't count chickens yet. Wait for the tweetstorm once Trump realizes he's been taken for a fool.
3
Trump has returned from meeting with Kim and declares, "Peace in our time."
Oh, wait, that was Neville Chamberlain.
Once again, Trump proves to be a terrible negotiator and deal-maker.
22
We all know that the only thing driving Don the Con in this "negotiation" is what is in it for himself. Di you see how his eyes lit up when he started talking about the beautiful beaches that only need some condos? He could see the dollar signs from Singapore.
11
A Golf Course too! Prisoners from the Gulag will work as caddies.
3
A wall was expected, a replacement for Obamacare was expected -- safe zones for Syrian refugees, term limits, infrastructure, fair elections free of interference from foreign spies and saboteurs -- many things are expected, "Like the world has never seen."
There is still hope for a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton's emails which is a burning national security issue.
4
It won't happen. Kim Jong will not, I said WILL NOT disarm and destroy his nuclear bombs and missiles and if for some reason you think he will you are horribly naive. Trump knew this all along but it plays into his hand. At some point after Kim Jong's non cooperation Trump will tell the country we have no choice but to take out his weapons militarily to keep ourselves from being nuked, and in doing so he will have to put the country on a war alert, otherwise known as martial law. Under the conditions of martial law the president becomes pretty much an absolute dictator and can execute any action he sees fit, and that would include totally doing away with the investigation on him and all the evidence that goes with it. There is no other way out for Trump. Firing Rosenstein and Mueller and everyone else involved simply will not work. The martial law ploy will because probably half the country will follow him wherever he goes and he'll be able to get what he wants. And to you people in the media who keep disparaging him and calling him a clown and other things some day you're going to find yourselves out of business, compliments of you know who.
2
Perfectly frightful scenario. I very much hope you are wrong.
I do hope that happens. Then Trump can go to Iowa ("I love Iowa", yeah, right!). Then he can take his 40% of the American population there and good riddance.
More lies out of the mouth of Donald J. Trump.
Nobody knows how long or if North Korea will denuclearize, the meeting between Trump and Jong-un was so secretive that nobody knows what was talked about or agreed to.
The worst mistake this country could make would be to give Trump a second term.
5
North Korea doesn't need to make any more nukes because they've made enough. The true test will be if Trump and Pompeo trust government intelligence. There are reportedly hundreds nuclear storage facilities, and if Trump is not committed to finding and closing every one of them, he will have failed miserably.
3
"Within 2 1/2 years"? That is pretty funny. Trump is going to keep milking this for publicity, all the while getting nothing for the American people, and giving everything to North Korea. What a great investment Trump has been for Putin and Xi!
12
So-Kim has just achieved getting the nukes he wants and testing them. Next step, play the U.S. buffoon like fiddle to get some good PR and pretend to make nice. Done. Offer to stop testing as no more testing is needed anyway. And, get the buffoon to make concessions like cutting back on joint military drills.
Give up nukes now? I haven't heard any rational plan based on long term knowledge of North Korea's historical political tactics that lead to any rational notion that Kim is giving up the nukes he just FINALLY FINISHED BUILDING.
6
Trump has already told us that no matter what happens he’s going to lie. Why should we believe anything anyone in his administration says?
27
Pompeo may be the ultimate optimist or he may be trying to save the mid-term elections. Watch next for the plutocrat fan club to fall into line. Pompous lost me when he let Trump dis our friends and fall head over heels for Kim.
15
Trump needs to remove the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office to be replaced by one of Neville Chamberlain.
54
Mike Pompeo is like Mike Pence in disguise, both Trump sycophants.
What Donald Trump did in this lovefest with Kim Jong Un is give North Korea, China and Russia everything they were hoping for, concessions from the United States without any cost to them.
The United States suspending their defensive military joint exercises with South Korea was crucial for readiness, and something that both Russia and China was critical of for years, and Trump suspends them using Kim Jong Un own words by calling them provocative, HUH?
In 1938 Neville Chamberlain, stepped down from the plane waving the document from Hitler guaranteeing peace, Donald Trump looked and sounded worse than Neville Chamberlain by praising the butcher of North Korea.
Donald Trump is the Great Appeaser for this modern era.
40
North Korea is eager to dismantle the testing site because testing is complete and the site was destroyed by the last test. This isn't a concession.
Last year North Korea declared that 2018 would be the year that it builds a stockpile of nuclear missiles. I have read in a couple places that they now have between 30 and 60 nuclear warheads. I haven't heard of any effort to get North Korea to curtail their nuclear warhead building effort. Why wasn't that brought up in the summit?
I suspect that the only "major disarmament" on the Korean peninsula during the Trump administration will be the removal of US forces from South Korea and withdrawal of our naval forces from the area.
9
Trump is still angling for a shot at the Nobel Peace Prize, because well, he is the hand of peace per his video presentation to North Korea’s Kim, right?
Trump has to feel he has outdone Obama on every level. President Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize, so Donald feels he is entitled to one, too. He also feels a deep need to undo every good for the environment and the alliances that previous presidents have worked so diligently to establish.
So no more clean water, clean air, a pox on the Paris Climate accord, no mutual agreements with those nasty Canadians or our European allies.
So long as Trump is on good terms with fellow autocrats (as the Fox commentator 'accidentally' described Trump and Kim as 'two dictators'), The Donald feels good about himself. And in Don’s mind, all is good in his world.
10
Mike Pompeo is in a dream world!
It's eerie how much Trump stepping off that plane reminds me of Neville Chamberlain, the Nazi threat had been abated, that's exactly what Chamberlain thought he had with Hitler in 1938, it's called appeasement.
What I find most telling is that when the Republican's were so critical of President Obama and the Iranian Nuclear deal that was much more detailed, stringent on Iran and verifiable, they are applauding this dope that has given Jong Un the platform and concessions that he wanted from the United States without any cost to him.
Donald Trump is The Great Appeaser of the Modern Era.
22
Of course we are all skeptical, since the North Korean regime has gone back all deals previously. ( especially since there were no specifics in the ''agreement'' the other day )
The standard is the Iran deal, ( which was worked on for over TWO years by the previous administration under President Obama) where there was clear terms backed up by rigorous checking by 3rd party officials. (which was working)
However that deal was ripped up in the same that North Korea has done previously, so I guess there are now 2 peas in a pod working together on this one.
I wonder what the outcome will be ?
5
FIRST term?!?!?!?
4
I want peace as much as anyone else, however, we should not forget who the participants were in this summit meeting.
On the one hand, we have a dichotomous leader in North Korea who seems to have little problem imprisoning his people, lying to them, erecting social myths, executing those who are threats or possibly simply for pleasure, and in general starving his citizens.
On the other hand, we have an American president, a myth builder as well, who is under continuing investigation, could possibly be indicted at some point, pillories the press and media, and has never developed the simple habit of telling the truth in all matters personal or of state.
I think we as American people need to be very cautious about the proceedings that are taking place in front of us as we watch our televisions. There are more questions than answers at this point. A casual glance at the two participants should tell us that before they even begin to speak.
10
I agree with others here that we have to hope for the best in the campaign to denuclearise N.Korea, and support it as we can.
But I'm at a loss to see any tangible realties in this administration's actions to date; everything is theatrical smoke & mirrors, with the requisite contempt for the credulity of the audience.
Pompeo's protestations comport with that charade: he knows well enough that his first obligation is to stroke his boss, whether the progress made to date is real or not. We have nothing true in hand so far (as the secretary surely knows).
Republicans will debase themselves out of habit, of course, and lick Trump's soles, but the distance yet to be traveled in this process is daunting, and by no means assured.
16
Frankly, we've been here before in the past. I'll believe it when I actually see it. Not going to hold my breath through.
3
The term "denuclearization" for the Korean Peninsula has no real meaning so long as the U.S. is aiming hundreds of missiles from boats, submarines, airplanes, and ICBMs. Denunclearization would require all sides to disarm, not just one. Why should the world trust an America with nuclear weapons--with or without Mr. Trump's stubby fingers on the buttons--any more than a North Korea with such weapons. After all, the North Koreans haven't as yet dropped a bomb on anyone.
11
“Mr. Moon and others saw it as the clearest signal yet that the two countries were walking away from the brink of war and were willing to take bold steps to end decades of hostility.”
While U.S. liberals bang the drums of hostility and even war, South Koreans are breathing a sigh of relief that President Trump is taking the first steps toward peace.
3
It wasn't "liberals" calling Kim "little rocket man" and threatening "fire and fury" a few mobths ago. You are turning reality on its head and twisting it inside out.
12
Let me reword your statement so it makes sense.
While U. S. Republicans bang the drums of hostility and even war, South Koreans are breathing a sigh of relief now that Moon has taken the first steps toward peace. Moon should be awarded the Nobel Peace price for his efforts.
3
"...from the brink of war..."
caused by trump himself....
3
I suspect the prospect of denuclearization will be dangled before the American public throughout President Trump’s first term or however long it is needed to provide an extra layer of protection against impeachment.
12
The key question is the direction things are going in, and it is better now than it was last year. Unfortunately, there is a tendency in our political leadership to hype both the danger (last year) and the accomplishments (this year), which remain to be seen. But it's a start. I would have preferred more details, less ad lib with the press afterwards, but I understand why you want a vague statement of principles for the first meeting of these two guys.
3
A scripted summit coming after a scripted summit, Trump used each one to his benefit, a pattern repeated before. His campaign visit to Mexico when he returned and slammed Mexico at the rally; his address to the black community from an exurb 97% white. Trump projects blame, elicits sympathy as the victim, then roars invincibility and victory at every photo op, storms, factories, auditoriums. His first Syria bombing raid fired 66 missiles, targeted so precise not a runway, barracks, hanger, or munitions warehouse was hit--raids resumed the next day!
I am surprised that so many have missed the bigger context, despite hard clues. Looming behind North Korea is China, another erstwhile Trump foe.
Until China's trade delegation spent a week in DC, shortly after China cross-matched $500 million to upgrade the Malaysian development that is home to a Trump golf resort, China was the whipping boy and scapegoat for trade ills, esp. steel and raw numbers. After the visit and cross match (a few trademarks for his daughter), Trump pivoted: milk, Canada dairy was the outrage--Canada/Trudeau deserved a "special place in hell" and had "stabbed us in the back" (a right wing meme). Milk (forget the US trade surplus!) and the "million" cars from the EU (mostly made here).
Ending joint military training decreases readiness and gives China a distinct advantage. China's XTE, after a billion in fines, was reapproved to buy US technology. Trump sold out. China was blessed.
23
Thank you for that summation. If only that were all of it.
"But the agreement signed on Tuesday lacks any detail on the central issue, denuclearization, raising fears among analysts that once negotiators wade into the specifics, the talks could end in stalemate, as they have after past nuclear disarmament accords."
The Art of No Details™
Don't miss the latest best-selling bag of baloney from America's Swindler-In-Chief !
91
give it time, Socrates. He ran for president and defeated everyone. have a little faith, a little love. Bolton, Pompeo and Trump care. I will give them my support to succeed where other presidents near tragically failed.
I don't see how the US can effectively negotiate with North Korea when our negotiator-in-chief has no understanding of how to strategize making a deal, and gives major concessions without getting anything in return. And, as shown by his surprise announcement of canceling military exercises, he demonstrates no respect, either for our allies who would be affected by this deal's outcome or for the experts working for him who, under normal circumstances, would be the ones hammering out the details of a workable agreement. At any moment, he could, with an errant tweet, completely unbalance these delicate negotiations. Granted, war has been averted, at least for now, but I'm not sleeping any better.
39
Pompeo:
“We’re prepared to execute this,
once we’re in position
that we can actually,
get to a place
where we can do it.”
A nonsensical non-statement from our Secretary of State.
And Everyone is now saying Pompeo is weak on borders, weak on military. Sad
85
Pompeo, AKA Benghazi inquisitor looks weak with the clown's raw deal. Trump was showering KJU in hope that the dictator will reciprocate the same kind of adulation toward Trump. KJU, deep down know that Trump is a fool and enjoys hollow praise from dictators like Putin, Xi, etc ,etc,
4
Every statement and pronouncement from this administration is nonsensical, inconsistent and hypocritical. It's all hat and no cattle.
4
I couldn't have not said it better myself.
1
Spun in their favor? What is there to spin? They gave up nothing so far!
39
Dream on, Mike!
10
How utterly naive and ignorant
23
We've been here before, several times. The difference is previous administrations didn't try to turn their efforts at negotiating NK disarmament into a reality TV show.
75
TC - maybe it will work..!? I have faith. Pompeo, Bolton and Trump are three great champions of America. Let's give it time.
Trump - the master illusionist. This deal is just as opaque as every other aspect of his actions, business empire and inter-personal relations. We see and hear only what he wants us to see and hear and are left to imagine the real story.
23
fantasies are wonderful in Harry Potter Books - in real life not so much
27
As long as "major disarmament" means the dismantling of the weapons per se, while they're still on the ground, then that's great.
If it's "major disarmament" as a result of some having been launched, and others disabled via first strike, so there aren't any left to launch anyway, then that's another matter.
We'll see...these wildly optimistic, positive tweets and statements that are either blatant falsehoods, or are contradicted shortly thereafter, leaves me circumspect...
12
Major steps to disarm in First Term.
Of course, it'll take Second Term to complete the process.
At least try to be subtle.
47
Yes exactly, just as Bush Jr. took us to war to ensure his 2nd term.
2
Hopefully, he won't finish out the first term.
1
So, basically we will see the disarmament right after Mexico pays for the "wall". And I think we all know that there is a greater chance that Pink Floyd will rerelease "The Wall" in Spanish before that happens.
104
have some faith..!! No one thought Trump could be the candidate, much less the president. But, thank G-d, here we are..!
Both Pompeo and Bolton, not to mention Trump, know how to get to the end zone. Have some faith.
You bet....and it'll happen during infrastructure week
1
I am not a Trump supporter by any means. That being said I truly hope he and his administration are successful in this endeavor. But as he has been promised the same thing that Kim’s father and grandfather promised I have my doubts. And being that Kim is already telling the citizens of the NK that he was the big winner in these negotiations I expect a Twitter storm to soon erupt.
48
And why hasn't Trump attacked Kim's statements? No, he targets his venom (once he's become the "buddy" of another dictator, which is his sweet spot) at U.S. allies, such as Canada. Trump views everything as reality TV. Sad.
3
At the moment, Trump's Twitter war is aimed at Robert De Niro. He's made his priorities clear!
1
If only Kim would say they are going to put tariffs on us.
1
Given how open-ended the agreement between Trump and Kim is, it would be wiser for Pompeo not to give specifics, like this timeline.
Much as Trump would like to take credit for major disarmament by the time he is up for reelection, things are just too tenuous to make proclamations.
16
Unfortunately Trump can rely on his buddies at Fox, Limbaugh, etc to claim disarmament and his cult won't be the wiser.
2
He's just positioning for the 2020 campaign, where he will crow about saving the world from the brink of nuclear war, something he was utterly responsible for in the first place. His rant on North Korea's suitability for beachfront condos was astounding. like a lame pitchman out of Glengarry Glen Ross. His polarizing shtick gets more sickening by the day.
72
We've been down this road before--several times, except without the photo op. And it always ended up that NK was playing for time to develop the next level of nukes.
Trust but verify...where have we heard that before?
27
On the face of it, it's absurd.
North Korea has obtained nuclear weapons after decades of working on it.
Now, I'm supposed to believe that they will give them up in exchange for what? Trade? -- which they could have had at any time.
Or maybe it's in exchange for the US disarming on the Peninsula. Except that Kim knows perfectly well that the US can target any location from afar.
What makes more sense is that NK is achieving its goals - made possible by the fact that they have nuclear weapons. Where is their incentive to give them up?
29
Trump has a long and sorted history of "deals", brags about re-negotiating them, and coined the term truthful hyperbole. Kim has some track record of not keeping his word including on past nuke deals. Anyone who has confidence that something substantive has been accomplished in this meeting is forgetting history.
What has been accomplished for now is that they're talking instead of insulting and threatening from afar. "Brink of war" may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's better that they're smiling instead of spitting. Both of them need a Win at home, and in the eyes of other countries, so they'll probably stay on this friendly path for a while.
But both are already spinning to their audiences at home; claiming things not in the agreement. This is where matters can start going off the rail, particularly with two men who are inclined to lash out when they feel they're not getting their way (remember Trump with G7 just a few days ago, Kim firing a missile over Japan). Trump & team already seem to be contradicting each other about how this will move forward. And if there were personal agreements made by Trump & Kim when there were no other officials in the room, that seems even more likely to create differing interpretations and derailment.
Looks good for now, but...
16
Actually, his ghost author of The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, coined the term “truthful hyperbole.”
1
North Korea clearly ready, no doubt under strong pressure from the Chinese government, to do whatever is necessary to enter the world economy. Understandable that North Korea does not want to destroy either its current nuclear weapons arsenal nor its capability to produce such weapons and delivery systems. The gross hypocrisy from countries which already have large nuclear arsenals, primarily the USA, is disgusting in all of this, but so it goes.
If the USA government, the south Korean government and other interested governments can shepherd north Korea into the world economy and political/social norms, to the extent that they exist, all for the better.
Any accolades accorded to the Trump Administration are unwarranted however. This is entirely an effort by the north Korean government, the south Korean government and the Chinese government entirely.
4
I think we've learned from Russia, China, Cuba, Iran, etc., that we can't shepherd anybody to anything that they are not fundamentally interested in, and that the public in these countries is powerless. And we (the U.S. public) would be too, in the same situation - which we might be in soon.