“CNN has established that the weapon that left dozens of children dead on August 9 was a 500-pound (227 kilogram) laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of the top US defense contractors.” #Yemencnn.com/2018/08/17/mid…
Who takes the statements from coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki seriously anymore? Rest assured that if he says one thing, the opposite is actually the case. On Yemen, Saudi officials have lost their credibility long ago (2).
Also puzzling why @johnfkirby63 won’t admit Washington’s moral culpability. The U.S. can’t run away from this war & the devastation it’s causing when it sells the GBU’s, the combat aircraft, & fills up the tanks of Saudi aircraft. Cop out to defer to lawyers on the question (3).
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At the same time Pompeo is meeting w/ Pyongyang, we ought to have an eyes wide open view of what is going on here. The handwriting is on the wall: the admin is simply not prepared for negotiations with the Kim regime. Pompeo is under pressure from his own colleagues, and... (1)
...his boss is spouting off at the mouth, talking as if the whole North Korean nuclear problem is solved and that he will soon be awarded the Nobel. Pompeo is in an unenviable position. We should all wish him well. But it’s not looking good, for several reasons. (2)
First, the June 12 Singapore statement was bare bones. A 5th grader could have drafted it. The statement is not a “deal” as Trump keeps saying, but an overrated press statement that puts promises down on paAnalysts much smarter than I have beaten this point to death. (3)
I still think there’s about a 1% chance of Kim Jong-un dismantling the entirety of his nuclear weapons program, but here are some small tips for POTUS as he gets ready for his June 12 summit (1)
1: bench John Bolton from the U.S. negotiating team. You may like his gruff, unflinching, tough-guy manner, but the man will be an obstacle throughout (see this 2006 Newsweek article newsweek.com/hirsh-real-les…). Bolton has NEVER seen an arms control agreement he has ever liked (2)
2. Start preparing for what you’re going to say when you meet with KJU. NOW. Reports that you aren’t doing prep work are above & beyond worrying. This isn’t some boardroom meeting where you can riff, filibuster & intimidate your way to a deal. This is high-stakes (3)