The North Korea Problem

[Typical Lax Dad]

That's why Trump does not engage in Obama's naming & shaming rhetoric ..

Oh, clearly Trump would never name and shame "Rocket man".

"Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button"---Trumpy-poo


Whoops. Kim's people are starving. Such a shame.

Any other made up things you'd like to list that Obama "did wrong" that Trump would "never do"?

That was before they became friends & started saying nice things about each other, ...& stopped shooting ICBM's over Japan.

Now that they are negotiating, Trump is allowing Kim to save face.

Do you have a link to the administration stating that or is this another opinion masquerading as a fact?

[a fan]

That's why Trump does not engage in Obama's naming & shaming rhetoric ..

Oh, clearly Trump would never name and shame "Rocket man".

"Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button"---Trumpy-poo


Whoops. Kim's people are starving. Such a shame.

Any other made up things you'd like to list that Obama "did wrong" that Trump would "never do"?

That was before they became friends & started saying nice things about each other, ...& stopped shooting ICBM's over Japan.

Now that they are negotiating, Trump is allowing Kim to save face.

Keep right on moving the goalposts.

Boy, you've sold me. That Obama guy sure was a horrible President. Thankfully, we have Trump and the mighty R by his name to save the day!!!

Except Kim still has nukes. Just like before. But why get bogged down in piddly details like that when you can hang your hat on military thinktank terms like "naming and shaming"?

[old salt]

That's why Trump does not engage in Obama's naming & shaming rhetoric ..

Oh, clearly Trump would never name and shame "Rocket man".

"Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button"---Trumpy-poo

Whoops. Kim's people are starving. Such a shame.

Any other made up things you'd like to list that Obama "did wrong" that Trump would "never do"?

That was before they became friends & started saying nice things about each other, ...& stopped shooting ICBM's over Japan.

Now that they are negotiating, Trump is allowing Kim to save face.

Keep right on moving the goalposts.

Boy, you've sold me. That Obama guy sure was a horrible President. Thankfully, we have Trump and the mighty R by his name to save the day!!!

Except Kim still has nukes. Just like before. But why get bogged down in piddly details like that when you can hang your hat on military thinktank terms like "naming and shaming"?

What you call moving the goal posts, I call progress.

Are things any better now with N Korea than they were 2 years ago ?

Is shooting ICBM's over Japan thinktank stuff ? Ask the Hawaii residents who were hiding in the sewers when the false alarm went off.

[a fan]

What you call moving the goal posts, I call progress.

Yes. We've progressed to a Republican President, therefore you're happy. It's as simple as that.

Is shooting ICBM's over Japan thinktank stuff ? Ask the Hawaii residents who were hiding in the sewers when the false alarm went off.

You tell me! Are we checking scoreboards, or looking at stupid theories?

If we're checking scoreboards, in Iran we went from "they're months from getting a nuke" to three years with no bomb.

Instead of pocketing that obvious victory for everyone involved, you decide instead to make up some reason as to why the Iran deal was bad.

So which is it?

If we're checking scoreboards, both Iran and N Korea are better than they were two years ago.

Agree?

[old salt]

What you call moving the goal posts, I call progress.

Yes. We've progressed to a Republican President, therefore you're happy. It's as simple as that.
I'm happy that Kim's no longer testing nucs, testing ICBM's & lobbing missiles over Japan.
I'm happy we don't have to send 3 carrier groups to the Sea of Japan every 6 mos.
I'm happy that Kim & Trump are talking & the public has tuned out.

Is shooting ICBM's over Japan thinktank stuff ? Ask the Hawaii residents who were hiding in the sewers when the false alarm went off.

You tell me! Are we checking scoreboards, or looking at stupid theories?

If we're checking scoreboards, in Iran we went from "they're months from getting a nuke" to three years with no bomb.

Instead of pocketing that obvious victory for everyone involved, you decide instead to make up some reason as to why the Iran deal was bad.

So which is it?

If we're checking scoreboards, both Iran and N Korea are better than they were two years ago.

Agree? Stupid theory = equating N Korea threat with Iran threat.

[a fan]

Fine. Then N Korea hasn't changed. They still have nukes. Trump hasn't changed that. Nice try, no soup for Trump.

Iran, on the other hand, is three years nuke-free. Well done to Obama, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. Wish our Republican Senators could take credit for delaying the program by at least two years and counting. Oh, well.

Good thing we've replaced that old deal with a new one where we can't inspect anything at all. Brilliant deal, I'll tellya.

[dislaxxic]

Trump Lies About Everything: North Korea File

"One of the difficulties in covering the Trump administration, which the media has yet to solve, is that it is breathtakingly mendacious and constantly willing to make up stories out of whole cloth. Here’s an example which got lost amid the Mueller news: outright fabrication about a failed attempt by Trump to unilaterally change policy on North Korean sanctions."

[snip]

"This little episode is a microcosm for much that is wrong with the Trump White House: a frequent disconnect between the president and his staff which leads to mixed messages (an especially dangerous thing when it involves relations with foreign powers that could easily ignite into war) which is combined with a general indifference to the truth."

..

[jhu72]

American and Iranian Attitudes towards the Nuke Agreement

[OCanada]

NK is an epic fail. They are now rebuilding facilities and improving infrastructure. That really haven’t had to continue to demo missiles anymore. They are expensive and the funds can be put to better uses.

Off topic but Golan Heights is another fail from a geo political perspective

[tech37]

American and Iranian Attitudes towards the Nuke Agreement

You do realize what a bogus article this is don't you?

"So, too, is the American public. According to Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling conducted after the U.S. withdrawal, 66 percent favor U.S. participation in an agreement that lifts some international economic sanctions in exchange for strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear program."

What does that mean? Unless the "strict limits" includes inspections of military sites, what is the point? That little omission, that major flaw in JCPOA, allows the Mullahs to continue ballistic missile and, IMO, bomb production... a JCPOA work-around.

"A recent IranPoll survey suggests the Iranian people are becoming so cynical about the outcome of the process that any attempt at new negotiations between the United States and Iran could be dead on arrival."

It's bad enough believing polls here in the US and we're supposed to believe IranPoll...what on earth is that?

"Since 2014, Iranian public backing for their country’s nuclear program has stayed fixed around 90 percent. On top of that, virtually all Iranians believe it is important for the country to develop missiles (76 percent very important, 20 percent somewhat important, in 2018)."

What?! If that isn't regime-generated propaganda...man, that IranPoll doing yeoman's work

"Even more recently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested the U.S. government designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as an official terrorist organization."

At least this makes sense.

"By January 2018, six in 10 Iranians said the United States had not lifted all of the sanctions it agreed to lift in the JCPOA, nearly double the number that said the same in 2016. Confidence in the United States to live up to its perceived agreement obligations fell from 45 percent in 2015 to just 12 percent in 2018."

Don't they realize their government cheated? That's a rhetorical question...

"We can expect the Iran agreement will be a 2020 campaign issue. No fewer than five presidential hopefuls on the Democratic side — including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala D. Harris — say they would rejoin the JCPOA as long as Iran continued to comply with the requirements in the 2015 agreement."

Whoa boy, "the blind leading the stupid."

"But just because an American president may want to return to negotiations does not mean Iranian leaders will jump at the invitation. Nor do Iranian leaders distinguish between Democrats and Republicans in their public criticism of the United States."

So what?...when did the "death to America" chants ever stop anyway?

Better luck next time 72.

[jhu72]

American and Iranian Attitudes towards the Nuke Agreement

You do realize what a bogus article this is don't you?

"So, too, is the American public. According to Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling conducted after the U.S. withdrawal, 66 percent favor U.S. participation in an agreement that lifts some international economic sanctions in exchange for strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear program."

What does that mean? Unless the "strict limits" includes inspections of military sites, what is the point? That little omission, that major flaw in JCPOA, allows the Mullahs to continue ballistic missile and, IMO, bomb production... a JCPOA work-around.

"A recent IranPoll survey suggests the Iranian people are becoming so cynical about the outcome of the process that any attempt at new negotiations between the United States and Iran could be dead on arrival."

It's bad enough believing polls here in the US and we're supposed to believe IranPoll...what on earth is that?

"Since 2014, Iranian public backing for their country’s nuclear program has stayed fixed around 90 percent. On top of that, virtually all Iranians believe it is important for the country to develop missiles (76 percent very important, 20 percent somewhat important, in 2018)."

What?! If that isn't regime-generated propaganda...man, that IranPoll doing yeoman's work

"Even more recently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested the U.S. government designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as an official terrorist organization."

At least this makes sense.

"By January 2018, six in 10 Iranians said the United States had not lifted all of the sanctions it agreed to lift in the JCPOA, nearly double the number that said the same in 2016. Confidence in the United States to live up to its perceived agreement obligations fell from 45 percent in 2015 to just 12 percent in 2018."

Don't they realize their government cheated? That's a rhetorical question...

"We can expect the Iran agreement will be a 2020 campaign issue. No fewer than five presidential hopefuls on the Democratic side — including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala D. Harris — say they would rejoin the JCPOA as long as Iran continued to comply with the requirements in the 2015 agreement."

Whoa boy, "the blind leading the stupid."

"But just because an American president may want to return to negotiations does not mean Iranian leaders will jump at the invitation. Nor do Iranian leaders distinguish between Democrats and Republicans in their public criticism of the United States."

So what?...when did the "death to America" chants ever stop anyway?

Better luck next time 72.

You're right. The should have commissioned a poll from Rasmussen to find out how Iranians feel, what they think.

[cradleandshoot]

American and Iranian Attitudes towards the Nuke Agreement

You do realize what a bogus article this is don't you?

"So, too, is the American public. According to Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling conducted after the U.S. withdrawal, 66 percent favor U.S. participation in an agreement that lifts some international economic sanctions in exchange for strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear program."

What does that mean? Unless the "strict limits" includes inspections of military sites, what is the point? That little omission, that major flaw in JCPOA, allows the Mullahs to continue ballistic missile and, IMO, bomb production... a JCPOA work-around.

"A recent IranPoll survey suggests the Iranian people are becoming so cynical about the outcome of the process that any attempt at new negotiations between the United States and Iran could be dead on arrival."

It's bad enough believing polls here in the US and we're supposed to believe IranPoll...what on earth is that?

"Since 2014, Iranian public backing for their country’s nuclear program has stayed fixed around 90 percent. On top of that, virtually all Iranians believe it is important for the country to develop missiles (76 percent very important, 20 percent somewhat important, in 2018)."

What?! If that isn't regime-generated propaganda...man, that IranPoll doing yeoman's work

"Even more recently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested the U.S. government designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as an official terrorist organization."

At least this makes sense.

"By January 2018, six in 10 Iranians said the United States had not lifted all of the sanctions it agreed to lift in the JCPOA, nearly double the number that said the same in 2016. Confidence in the United States to live up to its perceived agreement obligations fell from 45 percent in 2015 to just 12 percent in 2018."

Don't they realize their government cheated? That's a rhetorical question...

"We can expect the Iran agreement will be a 2020 campaign issue. No fewer than five presidential hopefuls on the Democratic side — including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala D. Harris — say they would rejoin the JCPOA as long as Iran continued to comply with the requirements in the 2015 agreement."

Whoa boy, "the blind leading the stupid."

"But just because an American president may want to return to negotiations does not mean Iranian leaders will jump at the invitation. Nor do Iranian leaders distinguish between Democrats and Republicans in their public criticism of the United States."

So what?...when did the "death to America" chants ever stop anyway?

Better luck next time 72.

Thank you for taking the good doctor behind the woodshed with a stout hickory switch.

[OCanada]

Trump did not pull out of the Iran Treaty for any reason other than self interest in getting favors from the Saudis and Israelis or as down payment on promises made.

[CU88]

o d is going to be upset now that these world leaders have new girlfriends.

[jhu72]

Certainly not recognized by the Trumpnista who think Orange Duce is doing a great job with NK; but under Trump in 2017 NK launched more test missiles of their own design than under all other presidents combined. 2019 is just icing on the Trump cake. Sure someone will try to spin this as a good thing, only Trump could accomplish.

[OCanada]

Not only has NK tested another missile they also told the USA that Pompeo is no longer welcome because he is not “mature”

[jhu72]

Not only has NK tested another missile they also told the USA that Pompeo is no longer welcome because he is not “mature”

They want to deal with Trump only. I wonder why?

[a fan]

Not only has NK tested another missile they also told the USA that Pompeo is no longer welcome because he is not “mature”

No, no, no. Trump fixed this, and N Korea is no longer a threat, remember?

So we're all set here. Missile test? What missile test? Only big dumb Democrats allow Kim to test missiles and ruin our weekends.

Hannity said so.

[3rdPersonPlural]

This is what some whiskey and cigars gets from one of my old friends who has been cloistered away in a 3 letter agency since the mid '80's.

I summarize:

We know that KJU has been hooking Russian surplus rockets up to locally made missiles.

Both Putin and KJU know that launching rockets from NK alarm us and DJT gets all in a flap and scurries off to 'negotiate'.

We had surmised that KJU had run through most of his inventory of rockets, which explained why he was happy to suspend testing to get a deal from our POTUS

We also know that KJU hopped back onto his train and rumbled off to Moscow after DJT refused to include our nuclear umbrella over NE Asia in the 'denuclearization' deal. In my friends humble opinion, this is the first truly patriotic thing DJT has ever done. Plaudits deserved and earned!

Worth noting: Both China and Russia feel threatened by the nuclear umbrella that we have installed over South Korea. Both China and Russia know that that umbrella stays there unless we opt to remove it, and DJT getting jumpy about KJU doing something unreasonable is the best way to get us to disarm Korea. A long shot, sure, but Trump is nothing if not packed to the gills with Hubris and open to entreaties from the Asian powers.

So what do we expect? KJU comes back from Moscow with lots of serviceable Russian rockets, enough to expend some flaunting his power, and by summer he's shooting bottle rockets across the pacific. Come back and re-read this post this summer when "testing' resumes.

What do Putin and Xi hope for?

My guess: We start getting those 'rangeing charts' in our news feeds that show which cities are under threat and people get anxious. DJT is cowed a little and needs to do something to keep his base from getting antsy. An election is coming up. We don't have time anymore to do a proper negotiation with empowered reps from the State Dept. laying the groundwork for a pre-determined resolution. DJT has gotta go (a third time) and get KJU to stop messing around with rockets.

With KJU sitting on an economic development deal from China that makes a heck of a lot more sense to him than one cobbled together by DJTs people, and an armament deal from Russia that keeps the family dynasty in place for frickin' EVER, he forces a now out-of-his-league DJT to consent to unplugging the NE Asia nuclear umbrella. America is ejected from east asia. High fives all around. Trump works his magic on the voters, maybe enough buy his story to re-elect him, but it's gonna be a long haul to get back in where we were with Japan and South Korea, even if Trump loses.

He's shooting off bottle rockets already. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pent ... c-missile/

[dislaxxic]

North Korea Criticizes Bolton’s ‘Dim-Sighted’ Remarks About Denuclearization

More like "dim witted"

"North Korea’s criticism appears to be a continuation of its frustration at deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the United States. Earlier in the week, the North tested a new weapon and demanded that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from the nuclear negotiations. But the country is still avoiding directing harsh rhetoric toward the U.S. and directly criticizing President Donald Trump in an apparent effort to keep diplomacy alive.

On Saturday, state media cited First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as criticizing Bolton over his recent interview with Bloomberg News. In the interview, Bolton said the U.S. would need more evidence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready to give up his nuclear weapons before Trump would meet with him for a third summit.

Choe described Bolton’s comments as having “no charm” and being “dim-sighted,” and said the United States has nothing to gain with such remarks. But she stopped short of asking Washington to remove Bolton from the nuclear talks.

Her criticism was much softer than the North’s past fiery rhetoric directed at the U.S. and South Korea in tense times. In 2003, North Korea’s state media called Bolton “human scum” after he described then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the late father of Kim Jong Un, as a “tyrannical dictator.”

..