jarnon wrote:Bob78164 wrote:We're ending joint military exercises with South Korea? A long-standing ally and a democracy that faces a very credible military threat on its very border. Can someone please tell me just what the Great Negotiator got in return for screwing over another ally? --Bob
jarnon wrote:Trump's overture was sought for by South Korean President Moon, who was elected on a platform of engagement with the North. It's similar to Obama's policy towards Iran when moderate (by Iranian standards) Rohani was elected, and Cuba after a long stalemate. Diplomacy with rogue regimes usually fails, but IMHO it's still worth a try.
jarnon wrote:Moon is determined to keep the peace process alive.
Leaders of North and South Korea Hold Surprise Second Summit
If there is a Trump-Kim summit, expectations have been lowered. The best we can hope for is the start of diplomacy that will lead to, as Trump put it, North Korea joining the real world.
The summit wouldn't have happened without Moon. If the South Koreans feel screwed over (which I doubt), they have only their own president to blame, and themselves for electing somebody who believes in reaching out to Kim.
What I'm reading from the military is that the cessation of joint exercises will immediately begin to degrade our military readiness to honor our treaty obligations to defend South Korea in case of attack. For much the same reasons teams practice together, instead of each player doing all his practice on his own. We will need to coordinate with South Korean forces if military action is ever necessary. Joint exercises are essential practice to making sure we get this right. Moreover, I still haven't heard anything about South Korea actually wanting these exercises in general, or this exercise in particular, to stop.
And Donny's rhetoric, of course, using the phrases "war games" and "provocative" to describe our joint military exercises, is an outright propaganda coup for North Korea and China. As any adult in the room could have told Donny, if there had been one there. If anyone else had used that language, Republicans officeholders would unanimously have branded that person as disloyal, or at least as a fool.
So I'm still wondering, what did Donny get for the United States that was worth this price. The return of bodies is a nice humanitarian gesture, but to my mind it's not close to worth the price. --Bob
"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson