Any Thoughts? CNN Expert View
I am cynical... I think Kim and Trump both fed their huge egos and little will change... Well other than that the North Koreans will play us again... I hope I am wrong...
Trump seems really good at ripping up and backing away from agreements...
And seems really bad at getting new better agreements signed.
I am cynical... I think Kim and Trump both fed their huge egos and little will change... Well other than that the North Koreans will play us again... I hope I am wrong...
Trump seems really good at ripping up and backing away from agreements...
And seems really bad at getting new better agreements signed.
It is kind of surprising that Trump would agree to suspension of war games without getting anything in return. My expectation was that each side would make vague assurances to the other, without the exchange of anything concrete.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
I guess I only saw the games as sabre rattling and spending a lot of money. So I am fine with that.
ReplyDeleteIt's just that the war games thing is a specific thing we gave up that North Korea very much wanted. It's curious that we got nothing in return. What it does is raise doubts about our reliability with our allies, specifically North Korea, but also Japan. Are they now under more pressure to reach separate accommodations with North Korea, and the real party in interest here, China?
ReplyDelete--Hiram
I guess I disagree. We still have a HUGE presence in the region, whether they play provocative games or not.
ReplyDeleteTrump wants to shift international relationships into a series of bilateral negotiations. He believes that when America deals with other countries on a one on one basis, we are in the power position, and are better able to drive hard bargains. What he doesn't seem to grasp is that other countries are aware of this power dynamic and aren't willing to let it happen. That's why multilateral organizations came into being representing countries with common interests and goals. What Trump also fails to realize is that just because another country isn't at the table, that multilateral interests are swept away, or that puppets aren't having their strings pulled.
ReplyDeleteNorth Korea is in the middle between America and China. They know they can count on Chinese support, but the degree of that support depends on their reliability. By presenting an accommodating face to America, North Korea can go to China and say you can trust us with more goods. They know that better relations with the United States will have the de facto effect of easing sanctions. China gets what they want in that greater pressure is placed on the alliance against them as relations between us and our allies come under pressure.
We are now going through a process of unlearning the lessons the history of the 20th century taught us. This is really to be expected now that the generation that fought the wars of the mid 20th century have now pretty much departed the scene. The question now is, what will replace those policies that are now seen as having lived out there usefulness.
--Hiram
Agreed.
ReplyDeleteHuman nature is likely very similar to 100 or 1,000 years ago...
However our current reality is very different:
- Many more humans
- Instantaneous communications
- Quick travel
- Tightly bound Global economics and supply chains
- Less religious interference (except the Muslims and Israel...)
We need to remember the past and improve on those lessons.
This piece says it all...
ReplyDeleteKim had a great summit. And he didn't even need to give anything away
Reporters thought this video was North Korea propaganda. It came from the White House.
ReplyDeleteA Quisling and His Enablers
ReplyDeleteI guess I wanted to note that I have no problem with Trump trying to shake things up and trying to do things in a new way. I mean the old ways were not attaining excellent results by any means.
ReplyDeleteNo peace deal with North Korea, Iran still sponsoring terrorism, Huge Trade Deficits, Loss of Good Paying US jobs, Loss of US Intellectual Property, etc...
I just hope that all his theatrics and grand standing actually yield some real results for the American people.
Yes he definitely is an idiot or something...
ReplyDeleteCNN Trump declares North Korea 'no longer a nuclear threat'
Maybe he is "bi-polar"...
Trump says North Korea ‘no longer’ a nuclear threat as he returns to Washington
ReplyDeleteWhy is it so hard for yu to see what an idiot Trump is?
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI am never sure if he is an idiot or a master manipulator.
I mean probably 35% of the US population believes everything he says.
Personally I avoid both idiots and manipulative people...
What is kind of amazing to me is that huge numbers of Americans seem to have watched "Celebrity Apprentice" without an awareness of the irony.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
Thankfully I didn't watch any of those shows... :-)
ReplyDeleteVOX China is who won in Singapore
ReplyDelete