Trump will never sacrifice American security in dealing with North Korea

Analytics 19:23 28.05.2018
President Trump has, for now, cancelled the highly anticipated June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The stated reason for his decision was the recent statements from a senior North Korean official in which she threatened nuclear war. According to press reports, North Korean officials had also not been responding to U.S. correspondence and stood up U.S. officials. No doubt there is more the public does not know. There are a few points worth considering.
 
First, U.S. officials have made it clear that the United States wants to see North Korea “make a strategic decision” to denuclearize, and North Korea has clearly not done that. This means the United States is not looking for compromise on the North Korean nuclear program, a compromise akin to the Iran deal, for example. Kim Jong Un cannot demand to have “what Iran has been allowed to have” because the United States has returned to the policy before the Obama administration when Iran was allowed to have nothing, no nuclear program, at all.
 
Second, despite insistence from his critics, President Trump has clearly said the summit might not happen, and as committed as he is to giving negotiations a chance, he is also perfectly willing to walk. It is a myth that he was cornered into making a deal or that he should be embarrassed by calling off the summit. It is disappointing, and his base of supporters are eager to have a Nobel Peace Prize bestowed on him. But as President Trump said, the prize is “victory for the world.”
 
Third, claims from his critics that President Trump or his officials are to blame for derailing the deal are completely bogus. Yes, President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and national security adviser John Bolton mentioned the “Libya model” in the context of North Korea. So what? In 2003, U.S. negotiators successfully worked with Libyan officials and came up with a plan for removing all elements of the Libyan nuclear weapons program, as well as its longer range ballistic missiles.
 
Nothing about the characterization by  Bolton of the U.S. plan for North Korea contradicts anything President Trump or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said regarding the U.S. objectives leading up to the North Korean rejection of those objectives and intentions. The United States requires complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization from North Korea, and there are lessons from the denuclearization of Libya for the United States to model.
 
Ambassador Robert Joseph, who played a leading role in removing weapons in Libya, said, “With Libya, it became apparent that Gaddafi had made the decision to abandon his nuclear program.” He continued, “With North Korea, a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear program may take a different form. But without a strategic decision, there will be little merit in the outcome, as it will only indicate a continuation of past behavior that has always ended in failure.”
 
But what about the recent press conference during which President Trump said the United States was not pursuing the Libya model? He was directly refuting the accusation that his plan for North Korea includes what many wrongly associate with the Libyan nuclear disarmament, and that was in 2011, when Libyans deposed Muammar Gaddafi with the help from the United States. But what happened under the Obama administration then was in response to the brutal oppression of the Libyan people and their willingness to risk their lives to depose Gaddafi.
 
Warnings by President Trump and Vice President Pence that the Libya model is what will happen if Kim Jong Un does not denuclearize contributed to the confusion about what Bolton was describing in the Libya model. But it is also clear, for anyone earnestly trying to understand President Trump, that his warning about what will happen if Kim Jong Un does not denuclearize is the same as his past warnings.
 
President Trump said the U.S. desired outcome “would be with Kim Jong Un, something where he would be there, he would be in his country, he would be running his country, his country would be very rich, his country would be very industrious.” After providing such reassurances that the United States was absolutely not seeking regime change, he warned, “The best thing he could do is to make a deal.” What ultimately happened to Gaddafi is what will take place if no deal happens.
 
The last point is that the critics are right about one thing. It is not true that the United States “gave up nothing” leading up to the summit. Yes, President Trump successfully secured the release of three American prisoners. Yes, he continued military exercises without much alteration. Yes, the sanctions stayed in place, and he never changed his demands.
 
But the administration did relieve some diplomatic pressure. There was the photo op with Kim Jong Un and Secretary Pompeo, shaking hands and smiling, no less. President Trump has said kind words directed toward the dictator. There is now the infamous creation of the summit challenge coin. The pivot of the administration from condemnation to openness and praise has been deliberate. It was regrettably overdone, but it was also the least costly of any kind of show of good faith.
 
Still, the administration has approached the North Korea problem basically the right way by always hedging, remaining realistic about the prospects of negotiations going south fast, keeping economic sanctions firmly in place, continuing U.S. joint military exercises with allies, seeking a diplomatic solution in good faith, and remaining willing to walk when it becomes clear the ultimate U.S. objective is out of reach.
 
The United States is not obligated to accept that North Korea must be permitted to have a nuclear program that holds Americans and our allies hostage to nuclear attack. But if North Korea insists that it is, and refuses to make the strategic decision that Libya made, the blame for the potentially disastrous results will rest squarely with Kim Jong Un, not President Trump, who is rightly refusing to sacrifice American security for the sake of what would be deadly compromise.
Azerbaijan takes measures to turn Khankandi into safe city - VİDEO

News line

About $7 bln of foreign direct investment was invested in Azerbaijan last year
12:00 29.03.2024
Number of people injured in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack reaches 382
11:48 29.03.2024
Media: Netanyahu rejected the Mossad Chief's proposal for a possible agreement in Gaza
11:37 29.03.2024
Azerbaijani Parliament's meeting kicks off
11:26 29.03.2024
An American couple founded a website, which identifies brands that support Israel
An American couple founded a website, which identifies brands that support Israel
11:07 29.03.2024
US scientists name infection more dangerous for brain than coronavirus
US scientists name infection more dangerous for brain than coronavirus
11:00 29.03.2024
Parviz Shahbazov: Foundations of 4 new renewable energy plants will be laid this year
Parviz Shahbazov: Foundations of 4 new renewable energy plants will be laid this year
10:50 29.03.2024
Japan eyes self-driving expressway lane network
10:40 29.03.2024
Oil prices end 1Q24 with strong growth
10:30 29.03.2024
SECRETS of the European Union's visit to the South Caucasus - Fikret Sadigov EXPLAINS
10:25 29.03.2024
Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens, security sources say
10:20 29.03.2024
Ammunition found in Khankandi
Ammunition found in Khankandi
10:10 29.03.2024
Iran’s top diplomat: Military presence of third countries in Caspian Sea goes against interests of region
Iran’s top diplomat: Military presence of third countries in Caspian Sea goes against interests of region
10:00 29.03.2024
Armenia officially announces freezing its participation in CSTO
09:50 29.03.2024
US hopes to return to purchase of 72 fighter jets per year amid budget cuts
09:38 29.03.2024
Another 138 IDPs leave for Fuzuli
09:28 29.03.2024
Netanyahu: "We have strategic assets of Hamas"
09:17 29.03.2024
Date of next meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Parliament Speakers announced
09:00 29.03.2024
Russia prepares for new offensive in May-June l – says Zelensky
23:52 28.03.2024
Russian investigators have evidence of Ukraine link to Crocus terrorists
22:24 28.03.2024
Committee members of the EU Council will visit the South Caucasus region
19:48 28.03.2024
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
19:00 28.03.2024
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
18:33 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan, UN Development Program mull future co-op
18:00 28.03.2024
An Independent Trade Union Established within International Eurasia Press Fund - First in NGO sector - PHOTOS
17:39 28.03.2024
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
17:23 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan lends clarity to color requirement for taxis
17:02 28.03.2024
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
16:45 28.03.2024
Nigerian army eliminates over 200 militants in 2 weeks
16:30 28.03.2024
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
16:15 28.03.2024
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
15:55 28.03.2024
Türkiye plays an important role between Russia and Ukraine - says political scientist Ismail Cingoz
15:45 28.03.2024
2 schoolchildren detained in France on suspicion of sending bomb threats
15:35 28.03.2024
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
15:26 28.03.2024
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
15:15 28.03.2024
Media: US did not transfer all information about terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall to Russia
15:00 28.03.2024
Movement ‘Together’ calls on Armenia’s parliamentary forces to express vote of no confidence in Pashinyan
14:41 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
14:32 28.03.2024
Le Pen accuses French government of fraud
14:22 28.03.2024
Armenian Government Grapples with Internal Division on Village Return Issue - Ishkhan Verdiyan talks on Ednews
14:12 28.03.2024
Hamısı