Trump bet on Kim. Now he's disappeared.
North Korea’s dictator has vanished from sight, and in doing so, he’s exposed a potentially major weakness of President Donald Trump’s negotiating tactics.
Trump made a bold bet: that by breaking precedent and engaging directly with Kim Jong Un, he could convince the brutal young autocrat to give up his nuclear arsenal in exchange for future economic gains.
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If a new leader emerges in North Korea, he (or she) may decide to grow the country’s nuclear arsenal as a way of consolidating and projecting power. And with U.S.-Chinese relations on a downward spiral due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the idea of international cooperation to diplomatically pressure North Korea and maintain economic sanctions on the country seems remote.
“The serious level of diplomacy required to move the ball forward with the North Koreans isn’t possible with Trump at the helm,” said Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The U.S. negotiating team has not been fully empowered and, as a result, there still isn’t a consistent, reliable communications channel in place."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/04/27/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-212081
In related news...
"An undisclosed portion of the NORAD/NorthCom contingent at Peterson Air Force Base has moved to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as the COVID-19 virus spreads.
The granite bunker south of Colorado Springs was specifically built, opening in 1967, for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a bi-national force with Canada that guards the North American continent. The command linked up with U.S. Northern Command after it was created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Inside the mountain, the entrance is guarded by two 25-ton blast doors designed to protect against a nuclear explosion. Now, officials hope the doors protect troops from a tiny but deadly microbe that's creeping across the planet.
According to theDrive.com, Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, NORAD/NorthCom commander, held a Facebook Live town hall on March 24 during which he announced some personnel would move from Peterson to the mountain to isolate from the virus."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.csindy.com/TheWire/archives/2020/03/30/norad-northcom-personnel-shift-to-cheyenne-mountain-bunker-due-to-virus-spread%3fmedia=AMP%2bHTML
Recorded by myself on Saturday....
= new reply since forum marked as read
Pretty sure the USAF has tests.
They get the best of everything
