Posted on 11/15/2019 6:16:47 PM PST by SeekAndFind
"Nothing says I love you like a shakedown," said Vipin Narang, an associate professor at MIT, summarizing South Korean anger and uncertainty over the president's latest gambit. Donald Trump wants to hike the price of keeping U.S. troops in South Korea by 400 percent and the Koreans, not surprisingly, are angry and humiliated.
If Trump is angling to remove troops from the Korean peninsula, he could accomplish that without losing a vital ally in a strategically important part of the world. And with Kim Jong-un in North Korea breathing fire and brimstone, Trump's timing is particularly bad.
From CNN:
In the US, congressional aides and Korea experts familiar with the talks say the President's $4.7 billion demand came out of thin air, sending State and Defense Department officials scrambling to justify the number with a slew of new charges that may include Seoul paying some costs for US personnel present on the peninsula and for troops and equipment that rotate through.
Negotiations are underway as North Korea threatens to step up its weapons development, deepening Seoul's anxiety. On Thursday, Pyongyang condemned US-South Korean joint military exercises, saying it was "enraged" and threatening to respond with "force in kind."
North Korea has already launched 24 missiles this year, each a violation of UN resolutions, to match the country's previous annual record for firing off projectiles that threaten South Korea and Japan, according to Bruce Klingner, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
Trump thrives on chaos but this move almost seems punitive. Certainly, the president is correct in wanting a fair payment for the services provided by U.S. troops to the national security of South Korea.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
#Winning
We could use some Military Accountants here to see just what the costs are...
MAGA makes cost accounting much more relevant...
pull em out... Europe, Afghan, Iraq also.
“ Trump’s timing is particularly bad.
I trust Trump’s judgement.
“ And with Kim Jong-un in North Korea breathing fire and brimstone, Trump’s timing is particularly bad.”
Yup. He picked the one time since the Korean war that the Kim dynasty is breathing fore and brimstone, which they haven’t been doing continuously for the past 60 years. That’s particularly bad timing and that’s some really great journalism.
Bad for who? For South Korea? Well yeah!!
You don’t ask for money from a weak position. Because we are asking from a strong position sure it is bad for SK. It means they will grimace and pay.
Didn’t South Korea last year or so have a problem with US anti-missile defense batteries going up near the NK border?
By the way, what is our excise tax on South Korean products? I imagine it’s low or nothing, which helps justify getting out or getting more dollars directly from the country to help cover costs.
Korea was a risky dink 3rd world country in the 70’s. No more.
South Korea had enough money to come here and buy Bobcat and Schwanns Ice Cream. Screw em.
Quid pro quo makes the world go around. Tit for Tat, Clarice.
Well, what’s it gonna be, South Korea?
“Donald Trump wants to hike the price of keeping U.S. troops in South Korea by 400 percent and the Koreans, not surprisingly, are angry and humiliated.”
So wealthy South Korea, with an economy 45 times the size of North Korea, needs the American military, for a deep discount.
Got it.
When Trump starts running his foreign policy through the CNN brain trust, let me know. Here’s how it works: we just pull out, all sorts of “betrayal!” tropes in the same international media who have been all for withdrawal for the last 50 years. We get them to say “Take a hike,” not so much. See the Philippines for how that all works out.
Probably had never been increased since the end of the Korean War. Don’t know just speculating.
How big is our trade deficit with S. Korea? Goods - Services is $10 billion deficit.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with Korea was $23.1 billion in 2017. Trade in services with Korea (exports and imports) totaled an estimated $35.0 billion in 2017. Services exports were $24.2 billion; services imports were $10.9 billion. The U.S. services trade surplus with Korea was $13.3 billion in 2017.
That’s Trump’s opening offer. They counter with a 25% increase, and settled on a 100% increase over four years. Done.
That scene was Paulie asking Henry about Billy Batts. Henry said nobody knows, etc. Henry knew. And Tommy. And Jimmy.
So now our troops no longer serve America’s interest, but instead serve the highest bidder? Did they know they were going to be mercernaries when they signed up?
It’s called negotiations. One doesn’t throw their best offer on the table first thing.
I for one am going to observe how this plays out. Trump’s instincts have been mostly right so far.
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