I'm with Conan on this one. Nixon went to China, caught all kinds of crap. Obama said he'd talk to Iran and the like, caught all kinds of crap. Talking is better than not talking.
I do think it's an ego thing for both of them, but whatever it takes on this. I'm very doubtful that anything of substance will come out of it (but Trump will claim victory regardless), but if it does anything to inch NK more into the mainstream, great for the world.
Not talking about the act of meeting - talking about the BS being spewed about how this is something new - we have talked to NK for decades. And the fact that there were no conditions - the ones you mentioned had conditions associated before actual action.
Talking is pretty much always better than fighting - that is arguably the single biggest reason we have not had more fighting in Korea in the last 65 years! There has bee a LOT of talking - often in the form of spitting cats - but still not much in the way of shooting. Same thing applies to Iran, and we actually were very successfully headed that direction until just a few weeks ago, when a certain ID 10 T changed all that. With meaningful conditions that were being adhered to by all sides.
Bigger picture question - exactly where would one like to see the "ball" move?? What does one hope for out of this?
My answer - there has been a huge historical ongoing commentary to NK about how their economy could advance and be so much more than what it is - like South Korea if they would just make a few tiny little adjustments. So far they have been unwilling to do any of that. I would like to see more initiative by us to lessen the load on NK
for a little while. Give them a sample of what they could expect to experience if they just move their position some. Sanctions and other treatments can go back on at a later date if needed. Someone has to make the first step, so how about us? After all, we did that with China, as you mentioned. With no pre-conditions. (China was the one thing Nixon got right, even if he was trying to divert attention...sound like something going on today?)
We made those same kind of moves toward normalization of relations with Cuba not that long ago - another piece of the Obama legacy Trump wants to eliminate.
We were even headed to a healthy, beneficial relationship with Canada and a
trade surplus until just a day or two ago! Shame that we are now going to be at war with them again so soon after the last hostilities! Oh, wait...what...??
So if one truly wants to move things forward, different approaches and attitudes must be predominant. Remember when Reagan advanced the idea that Mexico should be under consideration as our next set of states to admit to the union?? Now some fool wants a wall...
Whether one likes him or not, Obama made a lot of advancements in foreign relations that were MUCH better than anything Trump has done, or will do. And better than Bush's foreign relations debacles.
