Washington Examiner (September 4)
Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear, “alleges the president is basically losing his mind, and that top White House officials constantly work behind his back to curtail his worst impulses, including the time he supposedly instructed Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. to plan a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.” And the official White House response is perhaps even “more disconcerting than Woodward’s reporting.” In attempting to distract from the allegations, the Trump administration makes the book’s allegations more believable.
Tags: Allegations, Disconcerting, Distract, Dunford, Fear, Impulses, North Korea, Officials, Pre-emptive strike, Response, Trump, White House, Woodward
The Economist (July 8)
“Despite lots of martial talk from Mr Trump, a pre-emptive strike against North Korea is a terrifying option. It would risk setting off a war on the Korean peninsula that could claim millions of lives.” The best options are still deterrence and containment, “But if deterrence is to be effective, America’s threats must be credible. So Mr Trump must stop making promises he is not ready or able to honour—promises like stopping North Korea from developing an ICBM.”
Tags: Containment, Credible, Deterrence, ICBM, North Korea, Pre-emptive strike, Promises, Risk, Terrifying, Threats, Trump, U.S.
