Fra Zerohedge:
Following the latest missile launch from North Korea, which sparked panic as it flew over Japan before splashing down in the Pacific, Trump remained noticeably silent on the topic…until now. In a new tweet this morning, Trump has finally broken his silence saying “talking is not the answer!” to solve the North Korea crisis.
“The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!”
The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!
As Bloomberg pointed out yesterday, the delayed Trump tweet on the topic was likely the result of a new process put in place by Chief of Staff Kelly to assure that responses to such crises go through formal White House channels rather than ‘off-the-cuff” tweets.
Coming less than a week after Trump said Kim Jong Un was “starting to respect” the U.S., the test-firing was a provocation and required a clear response. So the team activated a process put in place by Trump’s new chief of staff John Kelly in anticipation of just such a crisis.
The idea was to reach out first to reassure allies and ensure the initial response came not as an off-the-cuff presidential tweet but a statement that reflected measured thinking, according to people familiar with the process, who asked not to be identified discussing internal policy.
Deliberations were cut off early in the evening as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster — who was joined in his office by Tillerson for the calls on how to respond — prepared a statement for President Donald Trump’s approval, the people said.
The response, announced Tuesday morning in Washington, said North Korea’s latest launches “signaled contempt” for its neighbors and restated the U.S. position that “all options are on the table.”
Meanwhile, stocks were at least momentarily ‘triggered’ by Trump’s tweet this morning even though we fully expect the “buy the dip” crowd to emerge any moment.
