Pres. Donald J. Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jung-un haven’t shaken hands yet, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats are already vowing to reject a possible denuclearization deal.
The rogue regime has gained the ability to fire a nuclear-armed missile and reach an American mainland target, putting every American life in harm’s way. Despite “rocket man’s” threats to rein fire down on the United States, the “resist” and “obstruct” mantra Democrats have been chanting since being voted down in the 2016 appears to be far more important than national security.
Schumer, who will not attend the historic U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore has already touted his demands for a peace deal.
Iran 2.0?
“Now that the meeting will proceed as planned, we want to make sure that the president’s desire for a deal with North Korea doesn’t saddle the United States, Japan and Korea with a bad deal,” Schumer said during a recent conference call.
Everyday Americans find the words “bad deal” synonymous with the Iran Nuclear Deal that sent $150 billion in cold hard cash to a radical Muslim regime that brazenly funds terrorism. Bad deal, many would argue, was the Obama-era deal to sell 20 percent of the United States’ uranium to a Russian entity. Making Sen. Schumer’s words even more hollow and ironic is the fact they are echoed across the liberal party.
“We just can’t settle for something less than what will ultimately make the peninsula, the region and the world more secure,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, the top-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Calling for an unachievable goal and laying out the reasons they won’t support a far better one than the Obama Administration’s mishandling of Iran and Russia among others sets the table to vote against a treaty. In other words, senators Schumer and Menendez are planning to resist and obstruct.
What Does North Korea Really Want?
Congressional Democrats have already begun clamoring that sending U.S. tax dollars are off the table. These would be the same greenbacks they turned a blind eye to during the controversial Iran deal. Fortunately, the relief North Korea likely wants is not just cash.
North Korea’s Kim has a serious paranoia that the United States will lead the South Korean Army in an invasion. In all fairness to Kim, the United States and South Korea technically have an open declaration of war that provides an internationally-recognized path to armed conflict.
Even casual observers took note that Kim frantically rejected the upcoming summit as the U.S. and South Korea engaged in war drills. Succinctly put, Kim wants tangible assurances his dictatorship won’t be toppled. That means some level of American military draw down is necessary.
Without a doubt, sanctions relief ranks second among North Korea’s needs. Unlike the loosely enforced sanctions by previous administrations, Pres. Trump put North Korea in a multi-national stranglehold. He even sent warships to prevent any transgressions. Kim will want all of them lifted.
Beyond economic relief, Kim must claim some level of victory and American investment into infrastructure projects, medicine and other recognizable wins may be necessary for him to stave off any attempted coup after a deal is signed. That could be difficult for Pres. Trump.
What Trump Plans To Get
The author of “The Art of the Deal” doesn’t show his cards and seems to have the other negotiating team overwrought and confused. But in the end, Pres. Trump has been very consistent about his bottom line: American interests first.
That being said, anything short of strict, verifiable denuclearization is a deal-breaker. This is where Democrats are likely to enlist the left-leaning and fake news media to back their attempt to vote down a treaty. It will be a tough sell given Israel delivered a half-ton of documents proving Iran had cheated on the bad Obama-era deal.
After gaining the best possible denuclearization deal, Pres. Trump will undoubtedly push for a trade deal that creates American jobs and helps grow the GDP. The president may require a Congressional insurance plan to protect private investors if North Korea turns on them later. One can expect House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to restart her claims the deal benefits the top 1 percent. The line may be stale, but it’s a place the career politician routinely hangs her hat.
Although Democrats have lost steam with voters as the economy picks up and unemployment plummets, should they regain a majority in Congress after the mid-term elections any Trump-brokered deal is unlikely to be ratified. North Korea, unlike Iran, would never drawn down its weapons if they are placed in similar straits as Iran.
A lasting denuclearization and trade treaty would need to be hammered out by summer’s end and passed by a Republican majority in the fall. If not, Democrats would not ratify the deal as they take aim at the 2020 presidential elections.
~ Liberty Planet
