Trump, North Korea and Iran...Savvy manuvering or clumsy behavior toward War?

May 12, 2018


What is President Donald Trump's end game with North Korea and Iran?  Could he make the world a safer place, or could his actions lead to a horrible third World War?


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President Trump's Summit with North Korean dictator Kim-Jong Un was great for the cameras, but what was the end result?  Kim got what he wanted, a much-hyped meeting with the Leader of the Free World, but what did President Trump get?  No serious policy questions got answered, nor was any headway made towards the North Korean regime's stockpile of nuclear weapons, and their disposal.   Both leaders just signed a non-binding "meh" agreement that said they would meet on a regular basis to continue their initial dialogue.  For those Americans who support Trump, their leader provided a huge foreign policy victory, but what was it?  For those who hate Donald Trump, they claimed that the whole summit was a charade, and nothing was gained by it.  If anything was promoted, it was the President himself, for vanity's sake.

Now, if President Trump's presidency gets the North Korean regime to open their borders to trade, economic support, medical services for the starving population, and gets the regime to end the Korean War officially, along with a drawdown of forces close to the border, then things could be seen in a positive light.  However, North Korea's "trump" card if you will, IS their nukes.  Why would they want to give them up? It gives them leverage with the outside world. Additionally, China does not want a pro-West unified Korean peninsula on China's border.  One thing Kim-Jong Un wants is an arms agreement where there would be no Western (United States) military personnel on the peninsula.  I doubt the Pentagon will allow or acquiesce to Trump's potential decision on this.  The military has too much investment in personnel and material, along with ground, air, and naval power situated in South Korea.  Also, I do not feel that the South Korean government would want the United States military to leave the peninsula, leaving the South Korean military to protect one of the world's largest economies.

I believe President Trump wants a huge foreign policy victory, but not for the betterment of US relations with its allies, or peace.  What Donald Trump wants is something that he can say HE engineered, and HE alone is the reason peace on the Korean peninsula was achieved.  His motivations are not for the country as a whole, but for him personally, and his potential business dealings with the new North Korea.  When he first took office, I was worried about a serious, world-altering conflict between the United States, South Korea and North Korea (with China and Russia covertly involved).  Now, I am waiting to see if Donald Trump can bring about at least a de-escalation of tension in that part of the world.  If that happens, then the much-maligned Leader of the Free World will have something to crow about.   That would require him to be smart, savvy and careful to not give the North Korean regime too much without getting anything significant in return.

The world anxiously awaits if this administration can do anything right.