Posted on 06/12/2018 5:57:46 PM PDT by upchuck
(snip)
President Trump was very tough with our oldest allies at the G7 Summit while he is being apparently cordial to Kim Jong-un. The elites are whirling in confusion at this kind of swirling maneuvering in a three- or four-day period.
Yet, there is a deep consistency in what President Trump is doing. He correctly understands that our allies have been happy because we have carried the allied military burden for 73 years (since the end of World War II), and we have accepted bad trade deals and one-sided protectionist regulations on their part. Of course, they are offended that America now has a president who actually wants them to pay their fair share for defense. Of course, they do not want to change their tariffs and regulations to have honest, open trading that isn’t biased against America.
At the same time, President Trump is being tough with our allies, he has acted on a deep reflection about the failure of Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama with the North Korean dictatorship. From 1994 to the present, the United States has wrung its hands and complained ineffectively as the North Koreans marched resolutely toward having nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
President Trump spent more than a year talking with the leaders of Japan, China, and South Korea. He consulted regularly with his senior foreign policy and national security advisors. He implemented a maximum-pressure campaign of much tougher sanctions – and even tougher language. His Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, communicated that a war with North Korea would be “catastrophic”. His new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, gave a strong speech outlining how much tougher sanctions could get if North Korea did not agree to denuclearization. His new National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton, has a long track record of being tough on North Korea.
With firmness set – and an American willingness to get even tougher evident – Kim Jong-un indicated to the South Koreans that he was willing to meet with President Trump.
The impressive thing about President Trump’s reaction was his speed and decisiveness. He saw an opening that might (repeat might) be historic, and he took it.
This decisiveness and willingness to take risks repudiates a deep elite diplomatic tradition of slow, cautious work by subordinates to gradually develop an agenda.
(snip)
President Trump has clearly communicated the U.S. position through sanctions, his own words, key statements by very competent subordinates, and in actions elsewhere. Consider how the North Koreans might be studying the U.S. military strikes retaliating against the Syrian chemical weapon attack, the moving of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and the tearing up of the Iran nuclear deal. President Trump has also consistently insisted on a substantial military build-up. It’s clear he is a tough guy willing to play a tough role.
Now, I do not believe everything is done, and we are entering a Pollyanna world of being close friends with North Korea.
I do believe, however, that through a combination of toughness and boldness, aggressiveness and flexibility, and resolution and an amazingly fast grasping of tactical opportunities that President Trump may have begun the process of opening up North Korea and changing history.
He has already accomplished more with North Korea than Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama combined. And this is just the beginning.
I agree
Clinton Bush and Obama were trash compared to Trump.
Did not Newt Gingrich run against President Trump as a candidate for the GOP nomination?
He sure has come around. Maybe a loose canon at times but he is very smart.
The difference when comparing to other Presidents is that PDJT
comes from a business background and the others come from a
governmental background. Day and night differences in dealings
and how you approach the problems/solutions. JMO.
You hit the nail on the head. That IS the difference.
Wish somehow Pres. Trump could get involved with the Congress and straighten their asses out. Too much wasted time complying with rules that should have been modernized/dumped long ago.
This comes from foxnwes.com
Ah yes Romney
Yes it does. But I also got it in an email from Newt. Guess he’s covering all the bases :)
Gotta sell those books
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