Tag: North Korea

‘Dictator envy’: Trump’s praise of Kim Jong Un widens his embrace of totalitarian leaders

The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website June 15, 2018:

President Trump’s praise Friday for Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian rule in North Korea — and his apparent envy that people there “sit up at attention” when the 35-year-old dictator speaks — marked an escalation of the American president’s open embrace of totalitarian leaders around the world.

Reflecting on his impressions of Kim following their Singapore summit, Trump told Fox News: “He’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks, and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” Continue reading “‘Dictator envy’: Trump’s praise of Kim Jong Un widens his embrace of totalitarian leaders”

Arrogant And Ignorant, Trump Is Making The World More Dangerous

The following article by Joe Conason was posted on the National Memo website March 14, 2018:

Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) testifies before a Senate Intelligence hearing on his nomination to head the CIA on Capitol Hill in Washington January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

This planet just became a more dangerous place to live.

It may not have seemed so last week, when Donald Trump agreed to meet Kim Jong Un for negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Trump’s abrupt diplomatic offer was certainly an improvement on his jeering, boasting, and threatening on Twitter — even if he doesn’t understand that he gave away exactly what the dictator wanted most, without getting anything in return. The prospect of talks is almost always preferable to the possibility of war, which is why previous presidents consistently sought ways to engage the hereditary despots in Pyongyang Continue reading “Arrogant And Ignorant, Trump Is Making The World More Dangerous”

Pentagon unveils new nuclear weapons strategy, ending Obama-era push to reduce U.S. arsenal

The following article by Paul Sonne was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

Officials from the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy briefed the press on Feb. 2 on the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review at the Pentagon. (The Washington Post)

The Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy Friday that calls for the introduction of two new types of weapons, effectively ending Obama-era efforts to reduce the size and scope of the U.S. arsenal and minimize the role of nuclear weapons in defense planning.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in an introductory note to the new policy — the first update to the military’s nuclear strategy since 2010 — that the changes reflect a need to “look reality in the eye” and “see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.” Continue reading “Pentagon unveils new nuclear weapons strategy, ending Obama-era push to reduce U.S. arsenal”

The Doomsday Clock is now just 2 minutes to ‘midnight,’ the symbolic hour of the apocalypse

The following article by Lindsey Bever, Sarah Kaplan and Abby Ohlheiser was posted on the Washington Post website January 25, 2018:

Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explain why they advanced the symbolic Doomsday Clock a notch closer to the end of humanity on Jan. 25. (The Washington Post)

Alexa, what time is the apocalypse?

Ulp. Continue reading “The Doomsday Clock is now just 2 minutes to ‘midnight,’ the symbolic hour of the apocalypse”

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea

The following article by Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and John Ismay was posted on the New York Times website Janaury 14, 2018:

WASHINGTON — Across the military, officers and troops are quietly preparing for a war they hope will not come.

At Fort Bragg in North Carolina last month, a mix of 48 Apache gunships and Chinook cargo helicopters took off in an exercise that practiced moving troops and equipment under live artillery fire to assault targets. Two days later, in the skies above Nevada, 119 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division parachuted out of C-17 military cargo planes under cover of darkness in an exercise that simulated a foreign invasion. Continue reading “Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea”

White House claims Wall Street Journal misquoted Trump as saying he has a good relationship with Kim Jong Un

The following article by Anne Gearan was posted on the Washington Post website January 14, 2018:

President Trump spoke about Hawaii’s false missile alert, talks with North Korea and his disputed quote in a Wall Street Journal article on Jan. 14. (The Washington Post)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump claimed Sunday that the Wall Street Journal deliberately misquoted him as saying that he probably has a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The White House is disputing the newspaper’s report that Trump, in an interview last week with several Journal reporters, said he has a good relationship with the nuclear-armed leader he has previously mocked as “Little Rocket Man.” Continue reading “White House claims Wall Street Journal misquoted Trump as saying he has a good relationship with Kim Jong Un”

Trump’s Wall Street Journal interview is incoherent and bizarre

The following article by Dylan Matthews was posted on the Vox.com website January 11, 2018:

Credit: Evan Vucci/Associated Press

“I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” he says, and we all wonder what he means by “probably.”

The president of the United States gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal about his diplomatic efforts to contain the North Korea nuclear program, his proposal for a border wall with Mexico (and having Mexico pay for it), the process of renegotiating NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, and his relationship with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Among the things he said: Continue reading “Trump’s Wall Street Journal interview is incoherent and bizarre”

North Korea my-button-is-bigger brinkmanship again spotlights Trump’s fixation on size

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greave was posted on the Washington Post website January 3, 2018:

North Korea said it would reopen a border hotline with South Korea Jan. 3, hours after President Trump said he has a “bigger” nuclear button than Kim Jong Un. (Reuters)

THE BIG IDEA: Following President Trump’s tweets can feel like watching a short man drive a Hummer. His fragile ego is always looking to overcompensate. The latest manifestation of that is downright Napoleonic.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday that the United States is “within the range of our nuclear strike and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office.” Continue reading “North Korea my-button-is-bigger brinkmanship again spotlights Trump’s fixation on size”

Trump to North Korean leader Kim: My ‘Nuclear Button’ is ‘much bigger & more powerful’

The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website January 2, 2018:

North Korea said it would reopen a border hotline with South Korea Jan. 3, hours after President Trump said he has a “bigger” nuclear button than Kim Jong Un. (Reuters)

President Trump escalated his war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday evening, asserting that his “nuclear button” is “much bigger & more powerful” than the North Korean leader’s and threatening that the U.S. arsenal “works.”

Trump was responding to Kim’s annual New Year’s Day speech on Monday, during which the North Korean leader boasted that the United States is “within the range of our nuclear strike and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office.” Continue reading “Trump to North Korean leader Kim: My ‘Nuclear Button’ is ‘much bigger & more powerful’”

In phone call, Trump thanks Putin for praise, looks for help on North Korea

The following article by Henry C. Jackson was posted on the Politico website December 14, 2017:

President Donald Trump talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for about 10 minutes on Thursday night. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday, talking about how they can work together to resolve the situation involving North Korea’s nuclear program, the White House said.

Trump also used the call to thank Putin for “acknowledging America’s strong economic performance in his annual press conference,” according to a White House read out of the call.

The leaders talked for about 10 minutes, and national security adviser H.R. McMaster didn’t participate in the call, a White House official said. Continue reading “In phone call, Trump thanks Putin for praise, looks for help on North Korea”