Radio America Online News Bureau

China

Weinstein Charged, New Sonic Attack on Diplomats, McCabe’s Secret $70,000 Table

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein charged for rape but they already see signs that Weinstein plans to portray himself as the victim.  They also react to new reports of U.S. diplomats suffering from brain injury due to a possible sonic attack, this time in China.  And they unload on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for spending $70,000 on a conference table and trying to hide it from lawmakers by redacting the purchase from a report to Congress.

Share

North Korea Deal Possible if Trump Keeps Pressure On

by

South Korea’s president says North Korea is ready to scrap its nuclear weapons program with virtually no conditions, but a leading expert on North Korea says President Trump must keep the heat on Kim Jong Un and China to get a deal worth signing.

Gordon Chang, author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World,” also says the South Korean president might be a bigger stumbling block to an acceptable deal than Kim is.

Optimism is on the upswing for the upcoming summit between Trump and Kim after South Korean President Moon Jae-in publicly indicated that North Korea is prepared to give up its nuclear program.

“I don’t think denuclearization has different meanings for South and North Korea. The North is expressing a will for a complete denuclearization,” Moon said Thursday, according to Reuters.

“They have not attached any conditions that the U.S. cannot accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. All they are talking about is the end of hostile policies against North Korea, followed by a guarantee of security,” added Moon.

Kim has said very little publicly, but Chang still sees an opportunity for something significant to happen in the Trump-Kim talks.

“We should be cautiously optimistic that President Trump, if he wants to exert American power, can perhaps bring a very good outcome to the Korean Peninsula,” said Chang.

“This provides the opportunity for a breakthrough.  I’m sure Kim Jong Un doesn’t want to give up his most destructive weapons and won’t do it unless there’s severe pressure, but President Trump is in a position to apply that pressure,” said Chang.

According to Chang, Kim is rattled by Trump’s policies and personnel choices, and that may mean he’s ready to make major concessions.

“He doesn’t want the the U.S. to strike his nuclear or his missile facilities.  You now have John Bolton as national security adviser, who made some very hawkish statements when he was a Fox News contributor.  I’m sure that’s unnerving Kim and probably the Chinese as well,” said Chang, who believes the pain of sanctions is a factor here as well.

“I do think that our sanctions campaign has been working.  There were reports, for instance, from South Korea that North Korea could run out of foreign exchange reserves by October.  That’s maybe a little bit optimistic but, nonetheless, we do know they’re running out of money.

“And we’re also hearing from the Chinese that Office #39, which is the Kim family slush fund, is low on cash.  There’s a lot of information that corroborates the view that Kim actually needs sanctions relief,” said Chang.

Chang believes Trump should meet with Kim but should crank up the pressure even more.  He also hopes Trump allies pressure on China.

“In the last month, Beijing has done some things which are really disturbing, in violating the UN sanctions openly.  So we need to put some pressure on the Chinese right now to make sure that Kim understands that President Trump is willing to go not only against him but also against China,” said Chang.

Even more encouraging for Chang than North Korea’s reported willingness to give up its nukes is the mindset President Trump says he is taking into the meeting with Kim.

“President Trump said something significant on Wednesday at his joint press conference with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister.  He said he’s willing to walk away, and that’s absolutely critical.  If you’re willing to walk away, you can get a good deal,” said Chang.

He says the biggest mistake the Obama administration made in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal was to make it clear the U.S. was eager for a deal.

However, the biggest stumbling block to forcing Kim’s hand may be South Korea.  Moon is desperate to achieve unity on the Korean peninsula, and that may play to Kim’s favor.

“We’ve got to be more concerned about Moon Jae-in than we do about Kim Jong Un.  We know that Kim is an out-and-out villain.  I think we need to view Moon in a very suspicious light, especially because of the things he has done to undermine the United States and also because of what he wants to do,” said Chang.

North Korea’s overarching objective is to conquer South Korea and Chang says Moon and his sympathetic allies in Seoul are doing some of Kim’s work for him.

“He’s got a willing partner in Moon Jae-in, who is trying to amend the South Korean constitution to make it more compatible with North Korea.  Moon has a lot of senior advisers who, in their college days, were openly pro-North Korean and today they won’t disavow those earlier positions,” said Chang.

 

Standard Podcast [ 9:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

China Blinks on Trade, Feds vs. Cohen, FBI Vets Sour on Comey

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see China made some minor concessions on auto tariffs and intellectual property issues in the wake of tariff battles with the U.S.  They also discuss the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and what it means, if anything, for the larger Mueller probe.  And Jim discusses his new column, which reveals that former FBI personnel who once thought well of former director James Comey are now very critical of Comey’s embrace of a political role that casts him as a hero and a martyr.

Share

No Nonsense Nikki Haley, More Trash Talk Over Trade, Pawlenty Rides Again

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America salute UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for her clear language and strong defense of American priorities on the world stage.  After briefly condemning The Atlantic’s firing of Kevin Williamson, hey also groan as President Trump and China exchange threats of even more aggressive trade action against one another.  And they scratch their heads as former two-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty runs for the job again.

Share

Ugly Midterm Omen, Tariff Train Wreck, You Tube Shooting & Media Bias

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America shake their heads as Democrats win another high-profile special election.  By itself, it may not mean much, but Democrats have won a string of races where Republicans were expected to be competitive or heavily favored.  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is openly concerned about a “Blue Wave” in 2018 and Jim and Greg discuss why he’s right to sound the alarm.  They also sigh as the Trump administration and China swap tariffs, leading to stock market drops and higher prices.  And they shake their heads as the media go wall-to-wall with coverage of the shootings at You Tube headquarters, only to drop the story when the shooter does not fit the media stereotype of a mass shooter.

Share

Trump Denunciation of North Korea A Call for Regime Change

by

A leading expert on the North Korean nuclear threat says President Trump’s condemnation of the communist regime through powerful stories also served as an American declaration that it’s time for a regime change in Pyongyang, but warned that military action would be a big mistake.

During Tuesday evening’s, State of the Union address, Trump focused his final foreign policy item at the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and punctuated it by telling two gripping stories

First, he recounted the story of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for stealing a political poster and was returned to the U.S. in coma last year.  Warmbier died days later.  His grieving parents were in the gallery for the speech.

Next, Trump detailed the harrowing account of North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho, who was also present for the speech.

“In 1996, Seong-ho was a starving boy in North Korea. One day, he tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of food. In the process, he passed out on the train tracks, exhausted from hunger. He woke up as a train ran over his limbs.

“He then endured multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain. His brother and sister gave what little food they had to help him recover and ate dirt themselves — permanently stunting their own growth,” said Trump.

He then fast-forwarded to Ji’s courageous escape from North Korea.

“Later, he was tortured by North Korean authorities after returning from a brief visit to China. His tormentors wanted to know if he had met any Christians. He had — and he resolved to be free.  Seong-ho traveled thousands of miles on crutches across China and Southeast Asia to freedom. Most of his family followed. His father was caught trying to escape, and was tortured to death.

“Today he lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears the most ‑- the truth.  Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep those crutches as a reminder of how far you have come. Your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all,” said Trump.

According to North Korea expert Gordon Chang, Trump was not just exposing the horrors of the Kim Jong-un regime but declaring it is unacceptable for Kim to remain in power.

“What President Trump did last night was really landmark.  He made the case for regime change in North Korea.  Of course he talked about the threat to the American homeland, but he linked that back to the nature of the Kim family regime.

“He did that by telling those two stories, the one of brutality towards Otto Warmbier and the other of the triumph of the human spirit, which is the escapee Ji Seing-ho.  That really was, for me, the most inspirational moment of the night, when Ji held up his crutches in his right hand in a signal of victory,” said Chang, who is also author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World.”

“That was just so important, because what President Trump is saying is, ‘This is the regime that is threatening us,'” said Chang.

While the precise timetable is unknown, Chang says North Korea is getting closer and closer to its ultimate goal.

“The ambition for them now, as it was from the very first day of North Korea, is to take over South Korea.  That is the core goal of the Kim family and is considered by the Kims to be essential for their own survival.  You’ve got two Koreas, one rich and one poor and side-by-side of course and the people in the poor Korea are not going to put up with this forever,” said Chang.

“If the Kim family can’t do that, poor North Koreans are not going to sacrifice indefinitely,” added Chang.

But if Kim is inching closer to attacking South Korea and regime change is required, what is the best way to achieve that?  Chang says Trump is off to a good start by going after the money.

“From the beginning, the Trump administration has tried to cut off the flow of money to North Korea.  We’ve seen this for example in his landmark Sept. 21st executive order, which said if you do business with North Korea or you handle their money, you’re not doing business with the United States.  That’s important.

“Also, last year the Trump administration pushed through three sets of UN sanctions.  That’s a very sound policy,” said Chang.

Trump also got the Chinese to make promises to clamp down financially on Kim as well.  But Chang says the commitment from Beijing is still inconsistent.

“They’re getting more serious, but they’re also violating UN sanctions.  They’ve been doing that almost openly since October.  We’ve seen these ship-to-ship transfers of oil.  Also, North Korean ships that are under sanctions, in other words are not allowed to visit ports outside North Korea, they’ve been turning on their transponders in Chinese ports.

“When all of this activity occurs, with China smuggling commodities in and out of North Korea, it also means that Chinese financial institutions are almost surely involved.  It’s up to the Trump administration to hold China accountable.  It signaled that it would do that, but it really has yet to apply the full weight of American pressure to protect the American people,” said Chang.

Chang says if China was truly serious about defusing the North Korean threat, it would be acting much differently.

“They would cut off all financial transactions with North Korea.  The Chinese banks would get out of the business of handling North Korean money.  Also, we would see China not buying and selling commodities that are prohibited by UN sanctions.  We would basically see an end to commerce between North Korea and China,” said Chang.

But while Chang and most in the Trump administration prefer to tighten the economic screws on North Korea, there are people calling for more aggressive actions.

“There are voices in the administration that are thinking that this is not a time for sanctions, this is a time to strike North Korea.  That is something where I think the administration has not decided on what to do,” said Chang, who strongly discourages that course.

“I think it would be an exceedingly bad idea, but right now there are a lot of voices (advocating military action).  This is where the contention is, both inside the administration and outside the administration,” he said.

Chang also hopes the State of the Union message puts an end to the efforts of some Trump critics to suggest Trump and Kim are on a similar level of malevolence and instability.

“I’ve never bought that narrative.  That is really a false equivalence.  President Trump is trying to contain the Kim family.  The Kim family has been a threat, not only to the United States, but to the rest of the international community well before Trump became president,” said Chang.

“North Korea did not become instantly dangerous on January 20th at noon of last year.  This is a problem for the entire planet, and Trump is doing his best on a very dangerous situation,” added Chang.

Next week, the Winter Olympics will commence in South Korea.  In recent weeks, leaders from north and south have agreed to cooperate on some aspects of the games, including having their athletes march in to the opening ceremony together and have a joint women’s hockey team.

Chang says the cooperation has some positive elements, but fears the South Koreans are doing too much to accommodate the regime that wants to conquer them.

“South Korea should not be paying for North Korea’s team, which it is doing.  And there are a lot of these inter-Korean Olympic projects, which look like violations of UN sanctions.  The U.S., for a variety of reasons, has allowed this to continue, but the South Korean public is starting to rebel against this jointness, especially this joint women’s ice hockey team.

“South Korean athletes have been turfed off their own team to make way for the North Koreans.  That’s played very poorly in South Korea,” said Chang.

Nonetheless, he still hopes some good comes from this moment on the world stage..

“I’m happy to have the North Koreans participate in the Olympics.  It gives an opportunity for them to see the outside world and to defect,” said Chang.

Standard Podcast [ 9:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Bolton Cheers Trump’s UN Performance

by

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton is cheering President Trump for a strong address to the United Nations this week and for perhaps already reaping critical results in his effort to isolate North Korea.

On Thursday, Trump announced a new round of U.S. sanctions aimed at North Korea and also reported that China is vowing to deal a major financial blow to the communist regime in Pyongyang.

“Today I’m announcing a new executive order I just signed that significantly expands our authorities to target individuals, companies, financial institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea,” said Trump.

Bolton says this could be a very significant move.

“It’s potentially significant because if we were to sanction companies or banks doing business with North Korea, that could have a knock-on effect to other countries doing the same and could effect their ability to do transactions in the United States,” said Bolton.

He says it leaves those banks and corporations with a stark choice.

“Do you want to do business with us or do you want to do business with North Korea?  Your choice entirely, but it’s going to be one or the other,” said Bolton.

Bolton likes the aggressive nature of the sanctions.

“Why didn’t we do this about eight or ten years ago?  Why is it that we’ve waited this long?  I think we have the answer.  I think President Trump is determined to do something about North Korea and Iran and their nuclear programs,” said Bolton.

Bolton served as ambassador to the United Nations for President George W. Bush.  So why didn’t these sanctions come then?

“There was a lot of discussion in the Bush administration about sanctions but (there was) a lot of opposition to really squeezing North Korea.  Ultimately, I don’t think we did really anywhere near what we could have,” said Bolton.

He says there was virtually no chance for stiff penalties in the Obama years.

“There was no appetite for sanctions against North Korea.  They were exercising what they called ‘strategic patience’ in the Obama administration.  That’s a synonym for doing nothing and the North Koreans took advantage of it,” said Bolton.

Just as importantly, Bolton says the new sanctions turn the screws on China as well.

“The vast bulk of the institutions doing business with North Korea – financial, commodities, machinery, you name it – are Chinese.  China, for 25 years, frankly, has two-timed us on their concern about the North Korean nuclear program.  So this gives the president some bite,” said Bolton.

That may have already paid off Thursday, as, Trump announced news that seemed to surprise even him, as China appears ready to play hardball with Kim Jong-Un as well.

“China, their central bank has told other banks – and it’s a massive banking system –  to immediately stop doing business with North Korea,” said Trump.

Bolton says if China is serious about taking this step it could have a huge impact on North Korea.   However, he says it is very tough to determine if China is making good on such a policy.

“I think that’s difficult from the outside.  God knows how many banks there are and how many new banks can be created that might be able to facilitate North Korean trade, for example with Iran,” said Bolton.

Trump made major headlines with his blunt talk about North Korea in his speech on Tuesday.

“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.  Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.  The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary,” said Trump.

Bolton says Trump struck exactly the right tone.

“I thought it was entirely appropriate.  Some of these people who talk about what’s becoming or unbecoming to say at the UN.  Honestly, the United Nations is not a church.  You’re not supposed to be reverential towards threats to international peace and security and innocent American civilians,” said Bolton, who thought the Trump approach was refreshing after the past eight years.

“After eight years of global governance kind of rhetoric from Obama and the weakness that he projected, maybe some people are shocked when they hear what a real American president has to say.  All in all, I think it’s the right thing for the president to do.  In America, plain speaking is a virtue and it’s important that these other countries hear it,” said Bolton.

Bolton also lauded Trump for labeling the Iran nuclear deal an “embarrassment” and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”  He says that puts the onus on Trump to get out of the deal soon.

“If you don’t certify but stay in the deal that you’ve described already as embarrassing, I think that’s unpresidential.  It’s sort of a one shoe on, one shoe off foreign policy.  He needs to lead with moral and political clarity.  I think the way you do that is to say this deal is a disaster for the United States and its friends and allies and we’re getting out of it,” said Bolton.

Standard Podcast [ 10:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Haley Hits Hard, Scalise Status Ignored, Fury of the 1%

by


The Three Martini Lunch is on vacation for the week and will return on Monday, September 11.  Please enjoy this encore presentation of a recent podcast.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in her firm-handed approach to the security threat posed by North Korea, specifically regarding China’s refusal to cooperate with UN resolutions against the isolated nation.  They also express frustration with national media over their lack of coverage of Rep. Steve Scalise’s condition as he returns to the ICU.  Finally, they highlight that most of those protesting Trump’s presidency are among the most wealthy in the DC area.

Share

Trump Tactics Already Yielding Results

by

While the media and former Obama administration officials wring their hands over President Trump’s tough talk on North Korea, retired Navy Captain Chuck Nash says the president is not only charting the right policy but is already reaping results from it.

Nash is also blasting the Obama administration for it’s handling of the North Korean threat in recent years and it’s “insane” recommendations now.

Trump roiled the political establishment by promising “fire and fury” in response to any acts of North Korean aggression against the U.S. or our interests.  His comments came in the wake of revelations that North Korea has miniature nuclear weapons that can be placed inside missiles.

On Thursday, Trump waved off suggestions that his remarks were too incendiary and even suggested they hadn’t gone far enough.  But while critics on both sides of the aisle worried that his words were “reckless” and could trigger horrific  actions from North Korea, Nash says Trump is playing this exactly right.

“The administration is taking the exact right messaging tone, which is not just to Kim Jong-Un.  That message is to Russia and specifically to China.  And this president is saying, ‘Look, if that guy does anything to make me itch, you’re not going to like it because we’re going to do something,'” said Nash.

And Nash says it’s clear China already got the message.  On Thursday, the Chinese announced they would stay neutral in any conflict between the U.S. and North Korea unless the U.S. struck first.

“It’s clear that it’s working because the Chinese just backed off by telling the North Koreans, ‘If you do something stupid, you’re going to get the results and we’re not going to stand up for you,” said Nash.

Nash is pleased to see Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Defense Secretary James Mattis staying on message.  He says everyone underneath them needs to stay on script as well.

“The last thing that the United States needs now is for anybody to break ranks and, as [former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher] said to George Bush, ‘This is no time to go wobbly.’  We don’t need that right now.  Too much political capital is on the line here,” said Nash.

Nash points to a Washington Post story this week revealing the U.S. knew North Korea had deployable miniature nukes four years ago.  But instead of confronting the crisis, Obama tried to pretend it didn’t exist.

“The Obama administration did everything it could to downplay it and in fact made it disappear because they were trying to pursue a policy of what was termed strategic patience,” said Nash.

And he says leaving the nuclear threat unaddressed was a major error.

“We’re starting to come to the realization that they do have a capability, that the intelligence community did know about it but that the Obama administration buried that information.  As we say in the Navy, bad news does not get better with age.  This is aging out and it’s starting to stink,” said Nash.

Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice is actively condemning the Trump approach.  While acknowledging that Obama failed to stop the North Korean nuclear program, she says any conflict with North Korea would be catastrophic and believes the world must simply come to grips with the communist regime being a nuclear state.

“That absolutely insane,” said Nash, likening Rice’s posture to deciding to accept living near a crazy neighbor who threatened to kill you and then accumulated the weapons to do it.

“The time for pussyfooting around and being really diplomatic is over, just as Tillerson said.  Strategic patience, that’s over.  We’re now at the point of having kicked the can down the road.  The road has come to a fork.  As [Yogi Berra] said, ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it,'” said Nash.

“Something’s going to happen.  Either we are going to acquiesce to having a madman with nuclear weapons, who is only going to continue to pursue and refine that capability, or we’re going to do something different than what we have been doing, which is kicking a can down the road, hoping – which is not a strategy – that things would get better,” said Nash.

Nash says North Korea’s current threat of aiming four missiles near Guam would meet the threshold of a first strike by the enemy.  He also expects the U.S. would try to bring down those missiles rather than hoping they don’t hit Guam.

“You can’t just sit there and hope that he wouldn’t really target Guam when you’ve got missiles that could be nuclear-armed headed in that direction, an intolerable situation,” said Nash.

Nash says one other major problem in the this standoff lies squarely at Obama’s feet, namely that rogue nuclear states have no incentive to give up their arms or ambitions.

“I think Iran and North Korea took the lessons of recent history.  What happened to Moammar Ghaddafi when he gave up his weapons of mass destruction, mostly chemical but he also gave up some nuclear material.  When he gave up those programs, that didn’t help him.  In fact, the United States partnered with NATO and went and deposed him,” said Nash.

And it’s not just Libya.

“Look at the Russians with Ukraine.  The Brits, the United States, and the Russians all signed an agreement that they would protect the political and territorial integrity of Ukraine if they gave up the nuclear weapons after the USSR fell.  How’d that work out for them?” asked Nash.

He says rogue nations learned the exact opposite lessons we hoped they would learn from those examples.

“The lesson is if you’ve got nuclear weapons capability, don’t give them up.  Because if you do, you’re in trouble,” said Nash.

Standard Podcast [ 11:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Haley Hits Hard, Scalise Status Ignored, Fury of the 1%

by

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in her firm-handed approach to the security threat posed by North Korea, specifically regarding China’s refusal to cooperate with UN resolutions against the isolated nation.  They also express frustration with national media over their lack of coverage of Rep. Steve Scalise’s condition as he returns to the ICU.  Finally, they highlight that most of those protesting Trump’s presidency are among the most wealthy in the DC area.

Share