Experts Wonder Why US Official (Clapper) Uttered Hard N. Korea Truth

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Experts Wonder Why US Official Uttered Hard N. Korea Truth

By TIM SULLIVAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS Oct 27, 2016, 6:03 AM ET

America's top intelligence official echoed what many U.S. experts have long argued when he said this week there was little chance North Korea would agree to shut down its nuclear weapons program.

The surprise, though, was that National Intelligence Director James Clapper had made the statement publicly, staking out a position contrary to the White House's and wading into policy questions.

"To hear the head of the intelligence community say that the North Koreans are not going to give up their nuclear weapons, he's just telling us what everyone already knows," said Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS, a Honolulu-based foreign policy research institute, and a longtime Asia security analyst with the U.S. military.

But when Clapper said that it was probably a "lost cause" to convince the North Koreans to abandon their nuclear program — as opposed to presenting a carefully measured analysis of the current situation — he was going beyond the normal role of an intelligence official.

"Intel guys are supposed to tell you what they assess of the world, but are supposed to steer clear of talking about policy," Cossa said.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/experts-us-official-uttered-hard-korea-truth-43096556

[Nitram]

1. This is how the U.S. gives notice to North Korea that we are beginning planning for...

...a military solution to an intractable diplomatic problem. That really is our only recourse if diplomacy can't dissuade N. Korea from developing an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to a U.S. city.