FEATURED

2Jul 20192 Jul 2019

Post #238: Trump-Kim III: Making History Without Making Progress?

Taking a few steps onto North Korean soil, and posing for pictures with a friendly dictator, seem to fit Trump-era…

29Jun 20192 Jul 2019

Post #237: The Trump Way of War

Notice how similar are the Trump administration’s interactions with Iran and North Korea? The pattern in both cases is dangerous,…

21Jun 201921 Jun 2019

Post #236: Iran—Who and Where is the Threat?

The official US narrative on Iran is that it is an escalating threat to “peace and security” in the Middle…

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Post #216: A Victory for Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula

29 Sep 20182 Oct 2018

On September 18 leaders of North and South Korea signed a September Declaration to advance inter-Korean cooperation and the possibility of the North’s denuclearization. Critics immediately dismissed the agreement for…

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Post #215: On Dealing with China

18 Sep 201826 Sep 2018

(Note: A slightly different version of this article has been published as "The China Conundrum" at https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/the-china-conundrum.) A Self-Confident China Ever since China’s economic reforms began in 1978, the goal…

APB

Coming Apart? Maybe Not

6 Sep 20186 Sep 2018

Day by day the Trump administration is coming apart. Revelations abound about the dysfunctions of the Trump team, about Trump’s ignorance and incompetence, and now about a “resistance” group in…

APB

Another Week Under Trumpocracy

21 Aug 201820 Aug 2018

Some takeaways from another week under He Who Would Be Emperor: “All politics is local.” Speaking to local issues rather than echoing the official mantra may be the only way…

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Post #214: Saving Democracy

Writing on democracy, I’m reminded of a great old Stevie Wonder song, “Love’s In Need of Love Today.” Democracy is in need of love today: It is taking a beating…

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Post #213: While Rome (and Most Everywhere Else) Burns

3 Aug 20182 Aug 2018

By now we’re accustomed to learning that every year brings record high temperatures around the world. Extreme weather, says Prof. Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University, “is the face of…

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Post #212: Some Dare Call It Treason

19 Jul 201819 Jul 2018

Is Donald Trump not merely gullible, uninformed, and indifferent but actually treasonous when it comes to Russia? More and more high-profile people are saying so. He’s acting like “a Russian…

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Post #211: At Home and Abroad, Trump Abandons Human Rights (Part 2)

16 Jul 201814 Jul 2018

(Note: This is the continuation of Post #210, published July 7. The full version is available in The Asia-Pacific Journal/Japan Focus, https://apjjf.org/2018/15/Gurtov.html. Deceptive Reporting Discussion in the Trump administration of…

APB

“Gangsterism” or “Progress”? Examining North Korea’s Latest Statement on Denuclearization

9 Jul 20188 Jul 2018

Most US news reports are suggesting that the North Koreans may be backtracking on their commitment to denuclearization,calling the US position “gangster-like” following the visit of Secretary of State Mike…

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Post #210: At Home and Abroad, Trump Abandons Human Rights (Part 1)

7 Jul 20187 Jul 2018

In January 1941, with the prospect looming of US involvement in another European war, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of America’s purpose in the world: to protect and promote “four freedoms.”…

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Post #209: After Singapore, is Iran the Next US Target?

23 Jun 201822 Jun 2018

Predictably, both sides at the Singapore summit are claiming victory. Kim Jong-un, having shared the stage with Donald Trump, can say that North Korea is now recognized de facto as…

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Post #208: What Happened? Assessing the Singapore Summit

13 Jun 201813 Jun 2018

“Peace and prosperity,” “lasting and stable peace,” “peace regime,” “denuclearization,” “new US-DPRK relations”—these fine words and phrases dominate the joint statement of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. Yet it’s difficult…

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Post #207: Trump’s War on the Poor: An Impeachable Offense

6 Jun 20187 Jul 2018

Were it not for the source, it would hardly be news to learn that the United States can’t take care of its most needy—that it may be the richest country,…

APB

Who Is Kim Yong-chol?

General Kim Yong-chol is arriving in New York to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization with top US officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo whom Kim has met twice. The meetings…

BLOG

Post #206: In Iran and North Korea, China Holds Some Cards

25 May 201825 May 2018

Donald Trump made his television reputation by telling people “You’re fired.” The same bullying approach now substitutes for his international diplomacy, with Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran…

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