Renzatic on 27/4/2018 at 18:54
Though on that same note, any agreement with North Korea has, historically, never been worth the paper it was printed on. This is, what, the 4th time they've agreed to nuclear disarmament? We should hope for the best, but with all things considered, prepare for the worst.
If one of the stipulations of this now sudden showing of good will is a withdrawal of certain US military assets from South Korea, I expect we're just seeing the first stages of some new shit
Starker on 27/4/2018 at 20:43
Meanwhile, in Japan, Lord Dampnut is celebrated as America's greatest hero!
(click CC for subtitles)
[video=youtube;FMrqlo_L-gY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrqlo_L-gY[/video]
Renzatic on 27/4/2018 at 20:46
Well, we're less likely to hit WWIII today than we were yesterday. Trump's aggression may have served a purpose, if not to impose peace through a blatant showing of aggression, then to serve as the counter example for the Chinese to work from.
Now let's see how things go in Syria.
Starker on 27/4/2018 at 21:01
Maybe he'll get in there with one of his patented see-saw handshakes and defuse the situation. Stranger things have happened. He might not want to count his chicks before he grabs them, though.
Maybe John Bolton is a dove in hawk's clothing and it turns out he has been for peace all along.
There should be no illusion, though, that North Korea has been intimidated by America. They are using their nuclear program as a bargaining chip. The fact that America treats them as equals and not as a pariah state is already a diplomatic victory the way things are standing currently.
jkcerda on 27/4/2018 at 21:16
Quote Posted by Renzatic
Well, we're less likely to hit WWIII today than we were yesterday. Trump's aggression may have served a purpose, if not to impose peace through a blatant showing of aggression, then to serve as the counter example for the Chinese to work from.
Now let's see how things go in Syria.
yeap, Syria still in limbo and as pointed out a gazillion times we have no business there.
Tocky on 28/4/2018 at 01:03
Quote Posted by Starker
There should be no illusion, though, that North Korea has been intimidated by America. They are using their nuclear program as a bargaining chip. The fact that America treats them as equals and not as a pariah state is already a diplomatic victory the way things are standing currently.
Indeed. Any leader who would murder his own brother in a foreign airport with an outlawed nerve agent will not be intimidated by words. Kim has some evil plan up his sleeve. I suspect it is to work on South Korea to oust US troops in some spirit of brotherhood bullshit. Then of course they can join Korea together again... only of course under Kim's leadership. Kim could even teach Trump a thing or two about ego.
heywood on 29/4/2018 at 13:39
Quote Posted by Renzatic
If one of the stipulations of this now sudden showing of good will is a withdrawal of certain US military assets from South Korea, I expect we're just seeing the first stages of some new shit
How about the North Koreans scrap all of the artillery and short range missiles aimed at Seoul and remove other offensive forces near the border. In return the US removes its forces and South Korea backs off from the border as well. North Korea gets to keep a small nuclear deterrent as long as they sign the CTBT and stop exporting WMD technology. Sanctions are lifted in stages over a period of 10 years or so based on North Korea taking steps to open up their society and reform their political and economic model. I think that's the best
realistic outcome we can hope for.
Demanding North Korea agree to de-nuclearize up front as a pre-condition to further negotiation would be a poison pill. Kim would have to be nuts, worse-than-Trump Grade A bonkers to do that. It would be signing his own death sentence. They saw what happened to Saddam. They saw what happened to Gaddafi.
The settlement I proposed will never happen though, because the national security establishment in the United States is only interested in two things, nuclear disarmament first, followed by regime change. Unless that changes, there will never be good faith negotiations between the US and NK. Kim's best play is to make peace with South Korea, normalize relations on the peninsula, and get the South Korean's to kick the US military off their soil. If he can do that, he doesn't need to negotiate with the US anymore. He can engage with the rest of the world and let the US hawks cry over their shrinking influence.