I was just looking at Trump’s twitter stream, and I noticed this:
Didn’t he put out a letter a few days ago cancelling the summit?
I found one article, on the Washington Post, that mentions his tweet. It has no explanation for his 360 on the meeting.
On the plus side, it sounds like North and South Korea continue to meet. Perhaps they will work something out without us.
I imagine that’s the State Department’s nightmare scenario, and the reason why everyone who’s not Donald Trump is just acting like he never spoke.
Which, come to think of it, is not a bad general strategy.
I’m sure that’s exactly why he’s flip-flopping. It’s all about him (not peace). If they continue without him, it will look bad–for him.
At this point, I more worried about what Trump might do if he meets with Kim. He’s shown how easy he is to manipulate.
Kim: “Obama was afraid of me. So were Bush and Clinton. That’s why they all needed to keep American troops in South Korea. Are you a pussy like them?”
Trump: “Hell, no, I’m not scared of you.”
Kim: “Prove it. Pull all American troops out of Korea.”
Trump: “Well… I would… but the people who briefed me said I shouldn’t…”
Kim: “Cluck, cluck, cluck. Are you a man or a tiny-handed little chicken.”
Trump: “I’ll show you who’s chicken! I’ll pull all my troops out of Korea - and Japan too!”
Kim: “Wow.”
Trump: “Didn’t think I’d do it, did you?”
Kim: “Yeah, I owe Xi fifty yuan.”
Kim’s money is safe. Trump’s word is good only as long as he’s in the room, sometimes less.
Right. Because Congress would stand up to him.
Well, let’s not get crazy here. Trump will just change his mind - again.
Trump makes Kim look like Churchill by comparison. (Strength and skill, not appearance)
AIUI, the Koreas can’t work anything out w/o the US.
And Trump will simply make up a lie to agree w/ whatever the most apparently successful thing is.
It’s simple. Trump expected everyone to praise him for cancelling the summit with such a big beautiful letter.
They didn’t, so now he wants the summit again.
It’s simpler even than that. Kim is calling the shots and Trump has no choice.
Why not? The armistice was worked out via the United Nations. A final treaty could be negotiated by the same means. The two Koreas could work out a deal between them and the UN would sanction it. The United States could be easily bypassed.
As for the American troops in South Korea, they could also be handled separately. If we did, for some reason, decide to withdraw our troops, we’re free to do so. The UN resolution gives America the authority to station troops in South Korea but it doesn’t require us to do it.
And if a treaty was signed and the Korean War is officially over, we can keep troops there is the South Koreans wish us to. They’re a sovereign nation and they can ask other countries to station troops in their country just like Japan or Great Britain or Canada can.
You underestimate Trump’s ability to control the past. He doesn’t want the summit again, he wants it still.
Given Iran, Kim is not about to give up nukes based on any promise Trump makes.
What he really wants is to be treated as a real leader. Previous policy was not to meet with Kim until there were some major concessions. This kind of stuff it too deep for Trump to understand.
There are also the South Koreans who have figured out how to play Trump by appealing to his ego.
All signs indicate that Kim would be an idiot to bargain with him.
Maybe he thinks the hostages count, or China gave him a military parade - who knows with this guy?
I think the entire world is in on that little secret. The question is who has the stomach to kiss his ass. Objectively I can see that some people would find it amusing to manipulate him so easily. I wouldn’t want to do it myself.
Yeah, I think this is the best explanation. “Hey, wait for me!!”
Even so, I’ll believe this “summit” is happening when it is actually happening. I think odds favor it, but not overwhelmingly. And as much as I accept Realpolitik as often being a necessity, I have real reservations about photo ops with Kim shaking hands with any leader in the West (or the free East). Kim is not just a dictator. The guy is a monster, from a family of monsters.
Seth Rogen was telling about making his movie The Interview, a dark comedy about two bumbling journalists who get access to Kim Jong-un.
The script had originally been written about Kim Jong-il. But then he died and his son took power. Rogen said that they decided to suspend working on getting the movie made because they didn’t think it would be fair to target Kim Jong-un who had just taken power. For all they knew, he might turn out to be a reformer who would undo the policies of his father and grandfather.
Then there were news reports of Kim Jong-un having his own uncle executed by a pack of dogs. And Rogen said that was the green light to get back to work on the movie.
Yes, and then Kim Jong Un was hugging Moon Jae-in as if they just said their wedding vows
Must me a coincidence just like the 3 Americans he released and the destruction of his nuclear test site.
It just couldn’t be because the last 2 presidents removed world leaders by force and Trump could do the same.