US expected to name North Korea terror sponsor 11/9/2017 9:43:12 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print North Korea could be listed as terrorism sponsor, says White House   WASHINGTON (AFP),  Nov. 9, 2017 -- It will have to wait until President Donald Trump has finished his tour of Asian capitals, but the United States is expected to return North Korea to its list of state sponsors on terror. In itself, the designation will not have much practical impact on a pariah state already facing an array of US and international sanctions and intense diplomatic pressure. But the imminent decision marks another turn of the screw as Washington ratchets up rhetoric designed to convince Kim Jong-Un he will not win his latest nuclear stand-off. It will also add Pyongyang to a very exclusive list. Only Iran, Syria and Sudan are still blacklisted as terror sponsors, and Sudan is expected to be relieved of the title soon. - When will it happen? - ...

Trump says Russia hurting U.S. efforts on North Korea nuclear issue 10/26/2017 8:31:08 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before awarding the Medal of Honor to Vietnam War Veteran, retired Army Capt. Gary Rose WASHINGTON (Reuters)OCT, 26, 2017  - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russia was hurting U.S. efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons while China had been helpful. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump said it would be easier to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue if the United States had a better relationship with Russia. “China is helping us and maybe Russia’s going through the other way and hurting what we’re getting,” Trump said of the North Korea situation. A series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have ratcheted up tensions. Trump has pressed China to help rein...

Trump says Russia hurting U.S. efforts on North Korea nuclear issue 10/26/2017 8:31:08 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before awarding the Medal of Honor to Vietnam War Veteran, retired Army Capt. Gary Rose WASHINGTON (Reuters)OCT, 26, 2017  - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russia was hurting U.S. efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons while China had been helpful. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump said it would be easier to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue if the United States had a better relationship with Russia. “China is helping us and maybe Russia’s going through the other way and hurting what we’re getting,” Trump said of the North Korea situation. A series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have ratcheted up tensions. Trump has pressed China to help rei...

Abe, Trump agree to raise pressure on North Korea: Japan government 10/23/2017 9:17:30 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017 TOKYO (Reuters) OCT. 23, 2017 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to work together to raise pressure on North Korea, Yasutoshi Nishimura, a deputy chief cabinet secretary, said on Monday. Abe and Trump spoke by telephone after the Japanese premier’s ruling coalition scored a big win in an election on Sunday. Nishimura told reporters that Abe and Trump were planning to play golf together on Nov. 5, when Trump makes his first visit to Japan.

A reasonable approach to the Iran deal I vigorously opposed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) because I believed then — as I believe now — that the Obama administration, in its desperation for a legacy-creating deal, negotiated a weaker deal than we could have obtained. The JCPOA did not deliver anywhere/anytime inspections as promised or constrain Iran’s ballistic missile program. The JCPOA provided sanctions relief up-front and contains a highly troubling sunset clause. Nevertheless, the agreement is in place now, and the question is whether to stay in or exit. Circumstances have undeniably changed, both because of the new president and the operation of the deal itself. Here I part company with many who opposed the deal and now want the United States to exit. Both supporters and opponents of the original deal rightly point out the unworkability of a U.S. withdrawal. I would not recommend pulling out of the deal now — not when the International Atomi...

He's Right About Iran 10/10/2017 8:27:50 PM U.S. President Donald Trump says hes made decision on Iran deal The Weekly Standard, October 10, 2017  - Presidential candidate Donald Trump disparaged the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran in characteristically superlative terms: “My number-one priority,” he said to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in  March 20  16, “is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran. I have been in business a long time. I know deal-making, and let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic—for America, for Israel, and for the whole Middle East. . . . We have rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, and we received absolutely nothing in return.” We didn’t disagree with Trump’s reasoning then, and we don’t now. This magazine has been sharply critical of much the president has done, but on two vital questions—Iran and North Korea—we believe his instincts are sound. The Joi...

Sigmar Gabriel: Germany is ready to increase pressure on Iran German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Chancellor Angela Merkel attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 27, 2017. REUTERS BERLIN (Reuters) -Oct. 9, 2017 -   Germany is worried that U.S. President Donald Trump will say the international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program is not being adhered to and that this will turn North Korea off any accord to halt its nuclear weapons program, the foreign minister said. Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in Berlin on Monday that Germany was ready to increase pressure on Iran, with diplomatic means, but that “we do not want to see this agreement damaged.” He added: “Our big concern is with, regard to North Korea, that it is very unlikely the North Korean dictatorship is ready to agree to an international agreement to renounce the building of nuclear weapons if the only agreement in the world that has allowed such ...

Alan Dershowitz: Whether Trump's storm be diplomatic, economic or military depends on the dictators of North Korea and Iran 10/8/2017 11:21:41 PM Alan Dershowitz says Trumps calm before the storm is a message to North Korea and Iran By Alan M. Dershowitz Reporters continue scratching their heads about what President Trump meant when he spoke of the “calm before the storm” Thursday as he was hosting a dinner for military commanders and their spouses. It seems clear to me that he was sending a powerful message to North Korea and Iran: change your behavior now, or prepare to face new but unspecified painful consequences. North Korea and Iran are taking the measure of President Trump to see how far they can push him and how much they can get away with. The North Koreans continue testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles and threaten to launch a nuclear attack on America and our allies that could kills millions. Iran is likely engaging in activities ...