Leftists, Media Infuriated Over Trump-NoKo Peace Deal

I guess most people have the assumption when leaders have the meeting this is the end-game. In those cases all the work is done by career bureaucrats and the Presidents are mostly figureheads. They may set goals but generally come in at the end for the formalities. In those cases the leaders do not meet for discussions. So, the expectation, and parroted by the media is all should be accomplished before such a summit. Maybe this is why there have been so many failures in the past. Trump’s method is unprecedented. It is easy to see how this is much more effective. In the case of Trump he begins by laying the groundwork and expectations from the start. Previous Presidents begin with discussions with career personnel and what “They” believe can be accomplished.

One can look at history and see diplomacy, as has been practiced, has accomplished very little. In fact, as time has progressed it became less and less worthwhile and caused even more problems. Different actions are required at different times. It began with a very strong response to firing off missiles and the detonations of nuclear devices. I don’t recall any dissension with those tactics. Then came the time for talks of a summit. There was some equivocation by North Korea’s Kim until such time that Trump said the meeting was cancelled. The response by Kim was unexpected. Within the same day he pleaded to continue with the original meeting. Because of that, by itself, required the different approach. The harsh rhetoric of the past at this time would have been a disaster. The current soft, respectful approach is, essentially, a reward for that quick turnaround. What this has accomplished is “trust” by Kim. He has some indication he will be respected as a leader. Trump may have been forced to go further than he intended after both Bolton and Pence brought up Lybia. Many have suggested this was an indication the US would take him out. So the gestures may have had to overcompensate for those declarations.

Trump rightly said the situation has been ignored for far too long. No matter what the critics say there aren’t too many choices that are left. People like Lindsey Graham would seem to prefer a full-scale war. In the press conference Trump highlighted that any conflict, as would happen in trying to remove him, there could easily be 20 to 30 million killed. It would be insane for anyone to prefer that. If there is little chance of his removal then the only alternative left is to deal with him. If we “want” an outcome we have to make it acceptable for Kim to “want” the same things, and that doesn’t come with belligerence. Look what it took for Emperor Hirohito to relinquish, and that was an island all to its own.

With Russia and China on North Korea’s doorstep any sanctions will, over time, be less effective. There are already breaks in that policy. These techniques do not work in the long term and require nations to agree and maintain. It’s not a sustainable policy to effect change, except when a blockade is an option.

I did watch the coverage on a couple channels. The Channel News Asia didn’t seem too bad at first, except for one British, Simon Marks, who is based in Washington from what I gather. It seemed like he was “lobbying” the others to be more antagonistic. He did accomplish his goal because by the time it was all over the entire panel sounded like CNN Asia. I lost track of all the complaints Simon kept spewing. There’s something about journalists that make them incapable of listening fully. The vast majority of what he complained about Trump DID cover in the press conference, “if” he was paying attention. It goes back to the assumption the “letter of intent” was the final product. That was the basis for many questions as to what are the specifics. It was answered by Trump saying the team will start work next week.

What Acosta did at the signing was a Huge insult especially in that part of the world. I suppose he doesn’t get out much. There is a certain decorum in that culture which he violated, and could have had serious repercussions. It’s a culture that is demanding in that respect, whereas in Western culture it is accepted.
I also watched Sky News and from the start they were indignant. They were vile and vicious. They make good competitors to CNN.

One last thing that was condemned was the War Games put on hold. For some reason that really upset many of the panelists. But that’s a once a year event and since the last one was recent it will be nearly a year before the next scheduled one. This means there is nearly a year to see if and what progress is being made. It’s not like we can’t restart them again but it has been a complaint of North Korea every year. These may all be considered “concessions” by the media but Kim is NOT the only player on the field. All of this good-will by Trump puts Russia and China on the hot seat, which none of these have bothered to consider. They will bear some of the responsibility if Kim begins to retreat on his commitments, signed, as opposed to Iran. How will the entire media try to spin this if it’s successful. They would continue to make themselves illegitimate.