No, clo!!!!
(((
I'll grant you that bullying despots is something the US ought to do, and should have done more effectively under Obama. This was always part of my complaint about him as a foreign policy guy. He was a bluff, a no-risk drone man (OBL exception), and everyone knew it.
And I'll also agree that Trump's initial actions in the direction of North Korea were more-or-less unavoidable, as I said at the time. They were the work of the Defence Secretary, General Mattis, but Trump properly gets the credit, as he hired him.
But getting to talks is no triumph.
There has never been a problem with talking to NK. Or reaching an agreement with them.
The problem is getting them actually to perform the actions to which they have committed.
All this represents is Trump getting drawn into the Kim family swamp and pretending it represents a victory.
The preceding presidents have known that talks are pointless unless there are means of verifying subsequent North Korean actions. They breach every agreement they sign, not unwittingly but intentionally. They ignore their own obligations. All they ever actually do is obtain relief by consuming the benefits of any deal.
What Trump has now done is put himself in the position of needing to reach a deal, any deal, to be able to pronounce himself the winner. He's weakened his position. He's done so, as always, to change the subject from the Russia story, which is enclosing him in its net.
My suspicion is this announcement will soon be followed by his ending Mueller's investigation. Why bother with trivial details while he is reducing the fear of nuclear war?
Classic Trump trick. Look over here, while the action is going on in his other hand.
Wake me up when Korea becomes a unified country again. And by unified, I don't mean Kim Jong Unified.
I'm afraid you've been Trump Ued!
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