I didn't say otherwise, but to claim that 45 didn't do it with significantly more pomp and circumstance would be misleading.
So the only way to know if NK is going in the right direction is to write on a piece of paper that they can't continue with developing nuclear weapons otherwise we won't know whether they should or not. Sounds legit. The process has just begun. No one shows up to a single meeting and hammers out all the details in a couple of hours. If it were Obama that's what you and the rest of the naysayers would be saying.
Who said that
Good job it wasn't a single meeting then, or did I imagine the SK meeting with NK (which is what was re-agreed to in the Trump meeting) or Pompeo travelling to NK prior to the meeting?
Personally no I wouldn't, but then again I've already said as much in the post directly above yours!
Obama dropped the ball but that wasn't my point. My point is, this was a single meeting between Trump and Kim not a long series of summits. It was on/off/on and most didn't think it was going to happen just a month before it actually happened. Nowhere near enough ground work has been done to get a full length written agreement into place. It was an introductory meeting designed to get Kim out of the country and into the real world and presumably to show him he can lead his people to peace and prosperity if he goes in a different direction. Had it been Obama there and the conservatives ripping Obama a few weeks after the meeting for not hammering out a lengthy written agreement I'm sure someone here would be armed with a page full of links showing everyone how long it takes to actually nail an agreement, that history tells us 87.5 meetings take place on average etc. etc. etc. I'm also sure someone would be saying it was rushed, not properly negotiated, these things take time etc. It took almost 2 full years and required numerous extensions to hammer out the Iran deal and here you are after one meeting between Trump and Kim claiming the sky is falling. That was my point.Who said that
However getting it in writing to ensure that we have a firm and commuted line in the sand for NK? Given NK's past, absolutely 100% yes.
Its not about what we need to understand what NK is doing, its about setting clear boundaries for what is or isn't acceptable in terms of NK's actions (otherwise they might use the vague terms to take one step forward and a dozen back - kind of like they just did).
Good job it wasn't a single meeting then, or did I imagine the SK meeting with NK (which is what was re-agreed to in the Trump meeting) or Pompeo travelling to NK prior to the meeting?
Personally no I wouldn't, but then again I've already said as much in the post directly above yours!
"Even quite happy to say that Obama massively dropped the ball in regard to NK, doing far less than he could or should have."
Then perhaps more groundwork should have been done before agreeing to what was a glorified photo-op
Actually I would have ripped him for doing it, which may go some way to explain why none of 45's predecessors agreed to such a thing.
Ever think that the NK one was done the wrong way around, that's my point.
Had it been anyone other than Trump is a moot point, because it was Trump. I personally doubt that anyone other than Trump would have agreed to a meeting under these circumstances, given NK's background of breaking even formal agreements, let alone ones with loopholes you could drive the entire country through.
At this point I wouldn't put it past you to be of the belief that the only reason he hasn't--and I do mean successfully as opposed to merely making the attempt--cured cancer is that he wouldn't get credit for it.
Don't forget man, we wouldn't have "leaked government news" if it wasn't for anonymous sources. Sadly they aren't as reliable as in the past.
"I don't like the assertion so it's informed by lies."
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Of course. History shows there have been top generals and intelligence agency directors who've openly been hellbent on war, and promoted it against Presidential policy. Famously, General Patton wanted to attack Russia, General MacArthur wanted to attack China, and Director Dulles wanted to attack Cuba. Accordingly, they had to be set down. That unnamed military and intelligence figures drop warlike hints may be a useful negotiating stratagem, sour grapes from neocon warhawks, or my choice, simple ambient noise.
It would, were it not supported by the satellite images showing work continues on nuclear material production facilities.
Oops.
They didn't disappear, they simply got brushed to the side by new nonsense.
Satellite images are usually bulletproof. Except when they're not.
I'm literally doing exactly that, discussing it. In fact, I'm doing what you usually do, I'm questioning the sources of the information. Odd that you would start to question my desire to diminish the discussion when I'm doing the very thing you do quite often. Perhaps you don't like your completely anonymous, nameless "sources" being questioned?
No, it needs to be comparable. You can bring up all the examples that you want of the Soviet/Russian government rolling into weaker areas and punking them and taking whatever they want while the UN and US stand with stern faces but ultimately do nothing even though they pledged they'd help because Russia has nukes and nobody wants to rock the boat. There's probably quite a bit of truth to it behind the scenes; and it probably also applies to the times the US has done the same thing. South Korea is still a significantly more powerful country than even the Ukraine, with significantly closer ties to the United States and significantly more importance on the world's stage; and North Korea is a significantly weaker country than probably even immediate-post-collapse Russia was. Not only is South Korea's humongous and fully modern standing army camped along the DMZ very likely the principle deterrent for North Korea trying to roll in and unite the country again, it would probably even make the Russian boogeyman take a long pause before directly backing an invasion to the end of the peninsula. To act as those things don't matter much compared to the US not having bases in the country sounds more than a bit like the things Bush supporters pushed throughout his presidency to justify spreading freedom, and I wasn't much of a fan of it then.
