Threats Belie Limits on His Options

[struggle4progress]

By Toluse Olorunnipa and Laura Litvan
September 3, 2017, 8:37 PM EDT

Hours after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, President Donald Trump mused about new sanctions that would mean cutting off trade with China while his defense chief talked of military options. Neither is likely to happen ...

While Trump has few military avenues that would not risk widespread collateral damage for U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, slapping big sanctions against Chinese banks could set off a "gunfight at the O.K. Corral," said Doug Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

"If you really ratchet up the sanctions against China’s largest banks, that could have systemic consequences for the global economy and could really hurt the American economy as well as the North Korean economy," said Paal, who was on the National Security Council staffs of Presidents .. and .. Bush.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In has .. pushed back against the prospect of a U.S. strike. In a speech last month, Moon asserted the right to veto any military action, saying that decision should be made by "ourselves and not by anyone else." He has also vowed to prevent war at any cost ...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-04/trump-s-threats-over-north-korea-belie-limits-on-his-options

[PJMcK]

1. Trump is all bluster

He's a typical ignorant coward who bellows loudly but always backs down when faced with push-back.

Thanks for printing the link, struggle4progress. I have a question for you, though. In many of your posts, you have an affinity for ellipsis that make reading your excerpts jarring. For example, in the third paragraph you quoted, why did you feel it necessary to delete Reagan and "George H.W." at the end of the sentence? The pluralization of "Presidents" made it confusing as to which Bush you were referring. Why do you make such edits in your quotes?

Thanks and enjoy your Labor Day.

[Hortensis]

2. Big sanctions against Chinese banks? What would McConnell have to say about that?

After all, he's been Chinese big business's agent in DC since Tiananmen Square.

Politics out of it, this is yet another terrible idea from a truly clueless idiot.