One day after Pentagon officials said they expected to soon resume major wargames in South Korea, they have been overruled by President Trump. Trump issued a statement on Wednesday saying he sees no reason to resume wargames now.
Trump announced the halt to wargames after his summit with Kim Jong Un. He said the exercises were “provocative” to North Korea, and that the US would save a fortune by not engaging in them. Since most wargames in South Korea simulate an invasion of North Korea, they do indeed tend to raise tensions significantly.
The Pentagon talk of resuming the wargames comes after President Trump cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned visit to North Korea. This was raising a lot of concerns that US talks with North Korea were about to collapse.
This was followed up with reports that the North Koreans had sent a “belligerent” letter to Trump. Officials have since clarified that the letter sought a peace deal with the US, which US officials say they aren’t willing to offer.
Trump downplayed all this talk, however, saying he thinks his relationship with Kim is “doing well.” He went on to accuse China of putting “tremendous pressure” on North Korea to not make progress.
Trump added that he can restart the wargames any time he wants, and if he does, “they will be far bigger than ever before.”
The real wargame seems to be between Trump and his traitorous underlings!
Mattis: As you know, we took the step to suspend several of the largest exercises as a good-faith measure coming out of the Singapore summit. We have no plans at this time to suspend any more exercises. . .remember that what we did when we suspend the exercises, ladies and gentlemen, we suspended several of the largest exercises but we did not suspend the rest. So there are ongoing exercises all the time on the peninsula. The reason you’ve not heard much about them is North Korea could not in any way misinterpret those as somehow breaking faith with the negotiation. So the exercises continue. What it means in practical terms is that we’re making no changes to the exercise program at this time. . .here
Trump: The President believes that his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one, and there is no reason at this time to be spending large amounts of money on Joint U.S.-South Korea war games. . .here
Don’t let the door hit ya, Jimbo.
Mattis is also being insubordinately belligerent via the Pentagon-run “UN Command” in Korea.
Vincent K. Brooks is a United States Army general who is the current commander of United States Forces Korea, United Nations Command and ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
Wouldn’t the US require SOUTH KOREAN cooperation to do JOINT exercises, and as long as they don’t get that cooperation, it makes no difference what Trump, Pompeo, Mattis, etc. say should happen?
Vincent K. Brooks is a United States Army general who is the current commander of ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Brooks has operational control over more than 600,000 active-duty military personnel of all services, of both countries. In wartime, augmentation could include some 3.5 million ROK reservists as well as additional U.S. forces deployed from outside the ROK. South Korea has the only military force commanded by another country in a bilateral arrangement! Can’t get more poodle than that.
When trump cancelled the games, it was because SK was not gonna be there anyway. SK essentially told Brooks to piss up a rope
US presence is fetid, time to go home.
” Officials have since clarified that the letter sought a peace deal with
the US, which US officials say they aren’t willing to offer.”
The only thing the DPRK wants from the USA and has asked for for 65 years, and the USA will not consider it.
Some deal.
Just shows again that there is a Trump foreign policy…and there is a Trump admin. foreign policy, spearheaded by Neocon Pompeo, Bolton, Mattis and Pence.
Can Mattis and bring back Robert Gates.
….from the NY Times, June 4, 2008
from The Hill
Here’s the cached 404’d DOD news release