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Trump could disrupt careful diplomatic messaging on North Korea

LeglizHemp · 2017-08-08T21:06:44Z

are we ready for a real war with millions of deaths? hyperbole? maybe? maybe not?Trump could disrupt careful diplomatic messaging on North Korea By Nicole Gaouette, CNN Updated 8:51 PM ET, Tue August 8, 2017 Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's blunt threat to North Korea that it could face the United States' "fire and fury" could undermine work the rest of his Cabinet has been doing to defuse growing tensions in Asia. For weeks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been building what he calls a "peaceful pressure" campaign, roping international partners into a broad effort to push the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to stop brandishing its missiles and weapons and come to the negotiating table. The top US diplomat has paired that endeavor with an equally important but more subtle project: sending messages of reassurance to China and other Asian nations that the US' aim isn't to destroy North Korea and upend the region, but simply to engage Pyongyang in talks. Tillerson delivered that message most explicitly August 1 before setting out on a trip to Asia that has taken him to Manila, Malaysia and Thailand this week. "We do not seek a regime change," Tillerson told reporters before his departure. "We do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel." That messaging is key for countries across Asia that have trade and other ties to North Korea, but it's especially crucial for China, which has outsized influence because it accounts for 90% of the DPRK's trade. Beijing's national security interests are at stake if the nation of about 25 million people collapses. That would send millions of refugees pouring over the border into China, burdening its cities and resources. From a longer term strategic view, Chinese leaders fear the prospect of a unified Korean peninsula that would put US forces -- 28,000 of which are now in South Korea -- right on their doorstep. Beyond speaking directly to North Korea, Tillerson's message "is certainly meant for China," said Victor Cha, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And he adds that Tillerson was trying to reach other audiences as well. His reassurance is also meant for Asian countries, "all of whom have some form of relationship with North Korea to show them the United States is not about North Korea's collapse," Cha said. Diplomatic signals And there's an even wider circle for Tillerson's diplomatic signals. "More broadly, it's for the international community, to have them understand that when we call for sanctions and when we're pressing for sanctions, the purpose is not to try to collapse North Korea, but to compel them to come back to the negotiating table," Cha said. That's a particularly important message for countries like Russia, which wields a crucial Security Council vote and where there are deep suspicions about the US penchant for "regime change." As China and other Asian nations balance the threat posed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un against their desire for stability, Tillerson's challenge has been to bring them along. It remains to be seen how Trump's fiery threats will affect US allies or the regional dynamic. For now, it's not getting any calmer. North Korea's military is "examining the operational plan" to strike areas around Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic missiles, the state run KCNA said Wednesday. The statement, from a spokesman from the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, warned that recent US military maneuvers -- a reference to the flight of two US B1B bombers over the Korean peninsula Monday -- "may provoke a dangerous conflict." Pyongyang has steadily increased its testing, launching its fifth nuclear test in September and ratcheting up missile tests exponentially. US intelligence analysts have assessed, but not concluded, that North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead, according to multiple sources familiar with the analysis of North Korea's missile and nuclear program. Pyongyang launched its second ICBM in late July in a test that demonstrated the potential to reach the US. It was the 11th missile test that North Korea has conducted in 2017. Cha notes that if the rate of tests is extrapolated over the rest of Trump's term, Pyongyang would fire off nearly 100 tests. That compares to 64 missile tests over the eight years of President Barack Obama's time in the White House. And it marks a stark acceleration from 1994 to 2008, when North Korea did a total of 16 missile tests, Cha said. 'We are not your enemy' It's that level of intensification that led Tillerson on August 1 to say that, "we're trying to convey to the North Koreans we are not your enemy, we are not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us, and we have to respond." US officials had recently begun to say they see Tillerson's efforts bearing fruit. Th...

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jkeller

(@jkeller)

Posts: 2961

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You reap what you sow, brother. The web is just a mirror. People here made attempts to dialogue with you in the past, even a few gestures of friendship and humor, but you have made it clear all along that you are a toxic conflicted individual with no interest in anything but your own poison.

All you deserve at this point is mockery.

Agreed.

Posted : August 11, 2017 3:01 pm

LeglizHemp

(@leglizhemp)

Posts: 3516

Illustrious Member

Topic starter

Grin

[Edited on 8/12/2017 by LeglizHemp]

Posted : August 11, 2017 3:54 pm

adhill58

(@adhill58)

Posts: 473

Honorable Member

Look, the idea that the the "liberal media" has covered up the discovery of WMDs in Iraq is laughable. This would insinuate that people as powerful as Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and Colin Powell cannot get the message out that they were not lying and actually found these weapons. The FACT that there were no WMDs and the idea that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake were cheered during last year's REPUBLICAN primary debates. There is obviously footage of that. AND..... who was one of the people complaining about it and calling it a huge mistake?????........................DONALD J. TRUMP. Jeb Bush was right there and did not say that the WMDs are in Oak Ridge, TN. Why not? Surely, the former president's brother is privy to more national security intelligence than a poster on this site.

So, the question for someone who HAS seen Iraqi WMDs with their own eyes is: "Are Donald Trump and Republican Primary voters part of the liberal media cover-up of the discovery of WMDs in Iraq?" You really can't have it both ways on this one.

Wouldn't someone from "the legitimate press" like FOX News, Alex Jones, or www.trueredbloodedamericanpatriotnewsforonlysmartpeople.com just run a picture of Cheney in a cowboy hat with a lasso around this chemical weapons truck if we have it in Tennessee?

Anyway, ONE truck is not "Weapons of Mass Destruction." There would need to be at least one more.

[Edited on 8/12/2017 by adhill58]

Posted : August 11, 2017 5:05 pm

BrerRabbit

(@brerrabbit)

Posts: 5580

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You sinister lefty you. Dodging the North Korea discussion with nonsense like the dearth of WMD in Iraq.

I love all the bluster, "We gonna kick NK @ss if dey attack US or allies" . . . hahaha as if anyone on the planet doubts that North Korea will be bombed into a sheet of glass if they launch one active nuke at anyone but themselves.

DUH !!!!! That make a good enough "case on North Korea"? You think the North Koreans don't know that they will be cinders the second they touch the button?

What they are doing is taking advantage of our weakminded president and goading him into a first strike, trying to make the US look cowardly for not starting a global nuclear conflict. A simple psychological trick.

Ok, all you devious lefturds, back to your dodging and deflecting, you obviously can't assemble a congruent thought.

Posted : August 11, 2017 6:29 pm

KCJimmy

(@kcjimmy)

Posts: 550

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You sinister lefty you. Dodging the North Korea discussion with nonsense like the dearth of WMD in Iraq.

BINGO!

What they are doing is taking advantage of our weakminded president and goading him into a first strike, trying to make the US look cowardly for not starting a global nuclear conflict. A simple psychological trick.

Good to see you catching up. See this worked on OBAMA, Bush AND Clinton so there is no reason that they wouldn't think it will work on Trump but they are wrong. IF either of Trumps predecessors (particularly Bill Clinton) had dealt with them appropriately we would not be in this situation now. Honestly I wasn't a Trump supporter until I started paying more attention. He is not at all weak minded. A little vain to say the least but not weak minded at all. Don't know that we have ever had a president who so openly says exactly what is on his mind and what his intentions are. Very Transparent. This where the fat kid is screwing up. He is NOT dealing with Cliinton, Bush or Obama.

Ok, all you devious lefturds, back to your dodging and deflecting, you obviously can't assemble a congruent thought.

Maybe intended as sarcasm but it is spot on accurate. And the weaker and less congruent your thoughts are the more name calling is necessary.

Posted : August 13, 2017 8:37 am

BrerRabbit

(@brerrabbit)

Posts: 5580

Illustrious Member

Coherent.

Posted : August 13, 2017 8:43 am

KCJimmy

(@kcjimmy)

Posts: 550

Honorable Member

I thought so Grin

Posted : August 13, 2017 8:51 am

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