In 1950, the U.S. began a review of Nazi War criminals' Nuremberg convictions, ultimately reversing many of them. The ex-commander of U.S./UN forces in Korea argued for clemency for German officers.
When I was in high school (1970’s), we were prohibited from calling it a “war.” It was always the Korean CONFLICT. I actually received a “D” on a test because I dared to use the prohibited word.
Woah, woah. First, thank you for your work, I very much enjoy reading it.
But I gotta correct you on your intro.
Trump and N Korea rapprochement wasn't stopped by ineptitude of Trump! The entire deep state, neocons, and particularly Democrats trashed him and sabotaged it!
I'm no lover of Trump (I voted for Biden, though I now regret it). But peace with N Korea was pursued by Trump and booed by the NYT, US foreign policy establishment, and Democrats!
These politicians are largely puppets. But Trump and N Korea is a unique situation where he refused to listen to Bolton and the other jackasses in his cabinet. Why do you think liberal media mocks Trump and his relationship with Kim Jung Un?
You must know from your research that everything Americans are told about N and S Korea is inverted. That S Korea is a dictatorship run by the US deep state, and N Korea (DPRK) has a government of action that fights for working families. The US hates N Korea because they don't want Americans to know that a gov organized for the needs of its people (instead of profit) is possible and that these places already exist!
Yes. A long way to go still for the DPRK. But I bet you no adult in N Korea who wants to work is unemployed. Trump is the first politician in decades to try to mend relations with N Korea. Good for him. I don’t care if he did it for narcissistic reasons. Does any American politician do anything for moral reasons? Nah. But Trump's self interest in being seen as a negotiator or peacemaker is in my self interest and your self interest and the entire world's interest.
Thanks, Rachel, for your supportive words for my work. Much appreciated!
I give a lot of credit to former President Trump for trying to open up relations with the DPRK. I think if you go back, you'll see I did not in the article attribute the failure of that enterprise to Trump alone, but also to "the ever-present hostility of the bulk of the U.S. national security establishment, including most Democrats and Republicans." I could have added the pervasive negative treatment by the mainstream press as well.
By "diplomatic ineptitude," I mean taking figures like John Bolton along to the meetings with the North Koreans. Trump had to have known what a rabid dog Bolton was on North Korea when he invited him along to Hanoi for the 2019 summit. That kind of decision is what I was referring to by the description you objected to, "diplomatic ineptitude." What was the cost of Trump's decision? I'll reference here the analysis of Daniel DePetris at 38north.org:
"Bolton has been a proverbial human wrecking ball to North Korea diplomacy throughout his extensive career in government. His machinations to scuttle any negotiated resolution of the North Korean nuclear threat go back to the early years of the George W. Bush administration....
"Bolton’s participation in the second US-DPRK summit in Hanoi, Vietnam last February, however, was his gravest offense. By all accounts, there was an opportunity at the summit to reach a partial agreement on dismantling the massive Yongbyon nuclear research facility. But at the eleventh hour, Bolton convinced Trump to put another all-or-nothing proposal on the table which demanded the North’s complete, immediate and unconditional nuclear surrender in return for US agreement to lift all sanctions on North Korea. Kim, as Bolton almost certainly expected, rejected the proposal. As a result, the US missed an opportunity to cement an important if limited agreement on the road to a more comprehensive denuclearization-for-normalization accord."
As president, Trump was in charge. Bolton's sabotage rests on Trump's decision to give Bolton that stage, and follow his advice. In my opinion, a leader gets to take credit not just for their courage and bold decisions (the opening to North Korea), but for his errors (taking Bolton to Hanoi and following his advice) as well.
It is my hope that mainstream recognition of the U.S. crimes against China and the DPRK, especially the fact of the use of biological weapons, would provide the basis for a turnabout in U.S. policy and the beginnings of true peace talks taking place on the Korean Peninsula. The admissions of crimes, and apologies for them, could provide the basis of trust that would make future talks possible. It is probably a naive dream, I grant you. My ability to affect the course of events is likely minimal. But I can't stand aside and see the truth and do nothing.
Maybe Trump felt the same way. Maybe he knew that he would have to fight the entire National Security (aka war) apparatus to make peace with North Korea and finally end the Korean War. Maybe his failure wasn't ineptitude, but was merely fatigue, making bad choices because he got worn down by constant pressure from the "blob." Only time and further revelations will help us know exactly what happened.
When I was in high school (1970’s), we were prohibited from calling it a “war.” It was always the Korean CONFLICT. I actually received a “D” on a test because I dared to use the prohibited word.
Even in public school, the enforcement of how we are supposed to think is intense!
Woah, woah. First, thank you for your work, I very much enjoy reading it.
But I gotta correct you on your intro.
Trump and N Korea rapprochement wasn't stopped by ineptitude of Trump! The entire deep state, neocons, and particularly Democrats trashed him and sabotaged it!
I'm no lover of Trump (I voted for Biden, though I now regret it). But peace with N Korea was pursued by Trump and booed by the NYT, US foreign policy establishment, and Democrats!
These politicians are largely puppets. But Trump and N Korea is a unique situation where he refused to listen to Bolton and the other jackasses in his cabinet. Why do you think liberal media mocks Trump and his relationship with Kim Jung Un?
You must know from your research that everything Americans are told about N and S Korea is inverted. That S Korea is a dictatorship run by the US deep state, and N Korea (DPRK) has a government of action that fights for working families. The US hates N Korea because they don't want Americans to know that a gov organized for the needs of its people (instead of profit) is possible and that these places already exist!
Yes. A long way to go still for the DPRK. But I bet you no adult in N Korea who wants to work is unemployed. Trump is the first politician in decades to try to mend relations with N Korea. Good for him. I don’t care if he did it for narcissistic reasons. Does any American politician do anything for moral reasons? Nah. But Trump's self interest in being seen as a negotiator or peacemaker is in my self interest and your self interest and the entire world's interest.
Thanks, Rachel, for your supportive words for my work. Much appreciated!
I give a lot of credit to former President Trump for trying to open up relations with the DPRK. I think if you go back, you'll see I did not in the article attribute the failure of that enterprise to Trump alone, but also to "the ever-present hostility of the bulk of the U.S. national security establishment, including most Democrats and Republicans." I could have added the pervasive negative treatment by the mainstream press as well.
By "diplomatic ineptitude," I mean taking figures like John Bolton along to the meetings with the North Koreans. Trump had to have known what a rabid dog Bolton was on North Korea when he invited him along to Hanoi for the 2019 summit. That kind of decision is what I was referring to by the description you objected to, "diplomatic ineptitude." What was the cost of Trump's decision? I'll reference here the analysis of Daniel DePetris at 38north.org:
"Bolton has been a proverbial human wrecking ball to North Korea diplomacy throughout his extensive career in government. His machinations to scuttle any negotiated resolution of the North Korean nuclear threat go back to the early years of the George W. Bush administration....
"Bolton’s participation in the second US-DPRK summit in Hanoi, Vietnam last February, however, was his gravest offense. By all accounts, there was an opportunity at the summit to reach a partial agreement on dismantling the massive Yongbyon nuclear research facility. But at the eleventh hour, Bolton convinced Trump to put another all-or-nothing proposal on the table which demanded the North’s complete, immediate and unconditional nuclear surrender in return for US agreement to lift all sanctions on North Korea. Kim, as Bolton almost certainly expected, rejected the proposal. As a result, the US missed an opportunity to cement an important if limited agreement on the road to a more comprehensive denuclearization-for-normalization accord."
https://www.38north.org/2019/10/depetris101719/
As president, Trump was in charge. Bolton's sabotage rests on Trump's decision to give Bolton that stage, and follow his advice. In my opinion, a leader gets to take credit not just for their courage and bold decisions (the opening to North Korea), but for his errors (taking Bolton to Hanoi and following his advice) as well.
It is my hope that mainstream recognition of the U.S. crimes against China and the DPRK, especially the fact of the use of biological weapons, would provide the basis for a turnabout in U.S. policy and the beginnings of true peace talks taking place on the Korean Peninsula. The admissions of crimes, and apologies for them, could provide the basis of trust that would make future talks possible. It is probably a naive dream, I grant you. My ability to affect the course of events is likely minimal. But I can't stand aside and see the truth and do nothing.
Maybe Trump felt the same way. Maybe he knew that he would have to fight the entire National Security (aka war) apparatus to make peace with North Korea and finally end the Korean War. Maybe his failure wasn't ineptitude, but was merely fatigue, making bad choices because he got worn down by constant pressure from the "blob." Only time and further revelations will help us know exactly what happened.