SEOUL, South Korea — The United States and South Korea canceled key war games in favor of low-profile drills, the allies said Sunday, in a major concession to North Korea days after its nuclear summit with President Donald Trump collapsed without agreement.

The springtime exercises known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, along with their autumn counterpart Ulchi Freedom Guardian, have long been the lynchpin of the alliance between Seoul and Washington.

The drills, which include computer simulations and live-fire bombing runs, also have been a touchstone for tensions as the North considers them a rehearsal for an invasion.

The decision to cancel Key Resolve and Foal Eagle had been widely expected after Trump reiterated his own antipathy for the drills, which he has called “very expensive” and “provocative.”

 

Read more:

https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/us-s-korea-officially-call-off-annu...

John Bolton’s “arrogant” use of the term Monroe Doctrine in relation to Venezuela is an insult to the entirety of Latin America as it effectively reduces it to being a US backyard, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov has said.

“The theory and the practice of “backyards” is generally insulting,” the Russian foreign minister said on Monday at a press conference in Doha, Qatar.

He also reminded the US national security adviser that “since 1945, when the UN was founded, the international law is being regulated by this universal and the most legitimate organization.”

Bolton’s statement was “arrogant” and “insulting” to all the countries in Latin America, Lavrov added. On Sunday, Bolton vowed to create “as broad a coalition” as possible to basically overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and confirmed that the US was ultimately seeking to create a “democratic hemisphere.”

“In this administration we’re not afraid to use the phrase ‘Monroe Doctrine,’” Bolton stated. “This is a country in our hemisphere and it’s been the objective of American presidents going back to Ronald Reagan to have a completely Democratic hemisphere.”

The Monroe Doctrine was outlined by President James Monroe in 1823. It proclaims the Western hemisphere as an exclusive zone of Washington’s interests and regards any interference in the Americas by any foreign powers as a hostile act.

Since then, it has been invoked by multiple US presidents for various purposes – from justifying the territorial expansion of the US in the 19th century to battling the spread of communism during the Cold War.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/453003-bolton-venezuela-monroe-doctrine-insult/

 

And of course all the rotten journos of the Western world will applaud the capitalistic destruction of Venezuela...

 

See:

fighting the european for the "americas' delight to be slaves of the USA...

Forget about the niceties exchanged after the much-hyped Hanoi summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. To put it bluntly, the administration’s strategy towards Pyongyang has devolved into an utter disaster, and if things do not change soon, we could very well go back to the dark days of “fire and fury.”

So what happened? It may be that Trump walked into the summit in Hanoi with a very slick game plan. There has been ample reporting showing that the Trump administration knew that the North Koreans wanted large-scale sanctions relief in exchange for the closure of much of the Yongbyon nuclear facility. If working groups led by Special Representative Steve Biegun could not bridge the gap, why even hold the summit at all?

I have my own theory. Trump, knowing that Democrats would hold their hearing on the Michael Cohen saga during the first day of the summit in Hanoi, may have gambled that he could take advantage of his 48 hours on the world stage in a bigly way. Trump may have calculated that if he couldn’t get North Korea to bend to a grand bargain—or the total elimination of Pyongyang’s nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons for full sanctions relief—then he should walk. He may have assumed that he could look tough and show up the Democrats, either by making history and getting a mega-deal with Kim or walking out. Either way, he might have decided weeks ago that he needed a “win,” his domestic political fortunes trumping everything else.

There is evidence for this theory. A recent report from CNN shows that the North Koreans, after some clearly tough negotiations in which they even threatened to cancel the summit during working level meetings, did make a substantial offer in the end:

The negotiations were coming to a close at Hanoi’s Metropole Hotel when a North Korean official rushed over to the US delegation.

With Trump preparing to leave the hotel, North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui hurriedly brought the US delegation a message from Kim, two senior administration officials and a person briefed on the matter said. The message amounted to a last-ditch attempt by the North Koreans to reach a deal on some sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

US and North Korean officials had been haggling over a shared definition of the sprawling, three-square-mile site and the last-minute overture sought to advance the North Koreans’ proposal for dismantling it. But the message did not make clear whether the North Koreans shared the US’s expansive definition of the facility and US officials asked for clarity.

Choe rushed back to get an answer. Kim replied that it included everything on the site.

 

Read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/did-trump-and-bolton-sa...

 

 

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Reuters confirms that Trump blew up the Hanoi summit with Bolton’s “Libya model”:

On the day that their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, U.S. President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to the document seen by Reuters. 

The Reuters report is consistent with what we had already heard about the cause of the summit’s collapse, and it makes clear that Trump and Bolton were the ones responsible for making a demand that at least Bolton assumed and hoped would cause a breakdown in talks. The narrative that Trump walked away from a “bad deal” was wrong. The president torpedoed his own negotiations by heeding the advice of a man who hates arms control agreements and has always wanted engagement with North Korea to fail. Bolton has consistently favored making impossible demands of North Korea in order to derail diplomacy, and that is exactly what happened in Hanoi.

 

read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-libya-model-killed-t...

 

 

See toon at top...

As expected, the Trump administration has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization:

The Trump administration on Monday designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, escalating the U.S. pressure campaign against Tehran and marking the first time an element of a foreign state has been officially designated a terrorist entity.

Over the weekend, Iranian officials made it clear that they would respond in kind and apply a similar designation to U.S. forces. There is an obvious danger that this decision could lead to armed conflict between U.S. forces and Iranian-backed militias and proxies, but the designation could have other unexpected consequences that go beyond U.S.-Iranian relations. The precedent set by labeling part of another government’s military as terrorists not only makes it more likely that our military personnel will be subjected to similar treatment, but it also blurs the definition of what constitutes a terrorist organization. Labeling the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization is inaccurate and it continues a trend of using the label of terrorist to mean “something that we don’t like and want to punish.” The Iranian conscripts who are required to serve in the IRGC are obviously not terrorists according to any sane definition of the word, but this designation means that the U.S. will now treat them as if they are. The Trump administration keeps finding new and irresponsible ways to drive the regime and the people together and to make conflict between the U.S. and Iran more likely. U.S.-Iranian tensions are now set to increase with no clear path for de-escalation.

 

Read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/trump-gives-hard-liners-...

 

Please remember that 99.9 per cent of terrorism on the planet is done by Wahhabis hardliners from Saudi Arabia and secretly US sponsored organisations such as ISIS, Al Qaeda and many others.

See:

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/27119

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/29794

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/18947

http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/32765

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/18672

 

 

Read from top.

 

 

 

US National Security Advisor John Bolton is a “war fanatic” and “defective human product” who works to destroy peace rather than maintain it, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has said.

The tough assessment, cited by state news agency KCNA, comes after Donald Trump’s adviser lambasted Pyongyang for recently carrying out short-range missile tests. Bolton described the drills as “no doubt” violating UN resolutions.

Hitting back, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry argued that scrapping missile tests completely would hamper the country’s national security.

Banning launches using ballistic technology is equal to telling us to give up our right to self defence.

The ministry official added that even in the US Bolton is well-known as a “war fanatic” and that such a “human defect must go away as soon as possible.”

Earlier in May, the North Korean military test-fired a number of rockets and missiles. Washington’s war hawks were quick to cite it as another reason to mount pressure on Pyongyang.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/460351-bolton-war-fanatic-pyongyang/

 

 

 

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Kim Jong Nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s assassinated half-brother, was reportedly an informant to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had met with US officials multiple times, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

According to one anonymous source, "there was a nexus" between the CIA and Kim Jong Nam. However, the details of Kim Jong Nam's relationship with the CIA are unknown. In addition, the source revealed that US intelligence officials were relieved that Kim Jong Nam's connection to the CIA was not revealed following his assassination. 

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/military/201906111075785874-north-korean-leader-...

 

 

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Although it is improbable, Gus will suggest that half-bro was killed by CIA operatives after having been too close from being exposed...Weirder things have happened...

On Friday, John Bolton, who resigned as National Security Advisor in September, accused the White House of blocking access to his personal Twitter account, claiming that Washington was afraid of what he “may say”. 

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham has claimed that the White House hadn't prevented former National Security Adviser John Bolton, 71, from gaining access to his Twitter account, suggesting that he might simply be too old to understand how to navigate the platform.

“Sometimes, I’ll use my father as an example, somebody who is of an advanced age may not understand that all you have to do is contact Twitter and reset your password if you’ve forgotten it so I’ll just leave it at that,” Grisham told Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight late last week.

She added that the Twitter account that he used while serving in the Trump administration was his personal one.

Grisham was echoed by the US President, who also rejected claims about the White House blocking Bolton’s Twitter page.

“No, of course not. Of course not. I actually had a good relationship with John. We disagreed on some things and some methods but I actually had a good relationship,” Trump told Fox News.

The comments came shortly after Bolton tweeted an allegation last Friday that the White House had refused to return access to his Twitter account “out of fear of what I may say”.

Bolton Refuses to Testify in Trump Impeachment Probe

Bolton’s Twitter page has been silent since his resignation in September, when he tweeted, in particular, that he decided to offer his resignation because he and Trump were at odds over US foreign policy-related issues.

Trump, for his part, insisted that it was him who asked Bolton to resign and that media reports suggesting that the two men had major disagreements over the invitation of the Taliban to Camp David for peace talks are nothing but fake news.

Bolton is currently seen as a potential key witness in the impeachment inquiry against Trump, which was launched by House Democrats on 24 September following a whistleblower’s allegations that the US President abused the power of his office during his phone call with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in July. Trump vehemently denied the allegations, slamming it as another political witch hunt.

Bolton, for his part, has so far refused to testify in the probe, notifying Democrats via his lawyer that he would file a lawsuit if he is subpoenaed.

At the same time, he announced that he would instead identify and support candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives who are “committed to policies promoting a strong America” via his own political action committee.

When asked if he felt the US administration was trying to stop him from testifying, Bolton said that he “doesn’t know” and that “you have to ask the White House”.

"But I can say definitively we have regained control of the Twitter account”, he noted.

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/us/201911251077392341-john-bolton-twitter-page-w...

 

 

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Exactly... I'm too old to understand how to navigate Twitter... Or actually too clever...

 

Saying “Mike Pompeo” out loud feels odd, like mouthing the name of an old girlfriend. What’s Mike done lately? Does he have a Facebook page? As the Trump administration wraps up its first term focused on domestic issues, the United States has passed almost four years without much foreign policy, and thus without the need for a Secretary of State or a department of diplomats behind him.

A Google query shows “Searches related to Mike Pompeo Achievements” include “Mike Pompeo weight,” “Mike Pompeo net worth.” One can easily imagine Pompeo, even pre-COVID, slipping out the side door at Foggy Bottom shouting as one long syllable “I’ll be working from home, check with my deputy if anything comes up” while his wife is waiting in the car for him, Ferris Bueller-style.

We had high hopes. Mike and John Bolton were the Bad Boys who were supposed to start wars with Iran and North Korea, outdo Cheney and even challenge the legend, Bloody Kissinger. Pompeo instead watched as not much happened between the U.S. and North Korea. He watched as the ending of the Iran nuclear treaty caused not much to happen. He watched as a standing to-do item for Secretaries, suck up to the Saudis, dropped off. Bolton, who liberals expected to see one day in Tehran rolling a mullah’s bloody head around his lap, now squats unemployed by the phone hoping a think tank will offer up an intern to listen to his stories.

Prior to Pompeo, it was Rex Tillerson. Tillerson couldn’t even come up with an elevator speech of his accomplishments when asked, listing as he left office North Korean sanctions which achieved nothing, alongside his own mea culpas for failing to make progress in Afghanistan and Syria and Iraq, where with a straight face he noted there was “more to be done.” A bit hard to blame him, as Trump chose a policy of stasis, not wanting to withdraw the last trooper anywhere and forever be the man who lost Afghanistan and Syria and Iraq.

Commentators wrote Tillerson would be remembered as the worst secretary of state in history. Wrong. He made no significant blunders, gave away nothing. He just didn’t do much at all. His actual only real accomplishment was a humiliating apologytour of Africa, meeting with leaders on the periphery of U.S. foreign affairs grouchy over the president calling their nations sh*tholes.

It would be easy to blame Trump for everything, with his open mic night style of making decisions, his decrees by Twitter. Unlike his predecessors, Trump never took advantage of his get-one-free foreign incursion along the lines of invading Grenada, occupying Lebanon, or an adventure in Somalia, never mind a big ticket item like a Mideast war or three. Sure, Trump did bomb Syria (who hasn’t?) and nipped at Iran, but the tumescence was over before the media could even declare the end of the world again.

 

 

Read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-absolutely-useless-...

 

 

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We are grateful that no new war has been started despite the efforts of some people like Bolton... We appreciate that diplomacy under Trump has been pissy and full of useless nasty "sanctions", but with it, no new conflict has started while blaming everyone else shows that this non-diplomacy has been relatively peacefully successful in achieving nothing...