Those “we’ve always done it this way” experts in Washington are in a tizzy over President Trump’s diplomatic style.
When are the foreign policy “experts” of the past five decades going to recognize that we have an unconventional president in President Trump and that he has an extremely capable secretary of state in Mike Pompeo, and maybe, just maybe, they can accomplish something in North Korea?
I’m getting tired of hearing the “experts” like Bill Richardson recount failures of past administrations in North Korea and the need for President Trump to properly prepare for the summit.
The latest advice, “Don’t Negotiate With Kim, Mr. President,” comes in the form of a Wall Street Journal op-ed by William Lloyd Stearman, who has served in various national security positions under four presidents.
As an advisor to Henry Kissinger, he was considered an expert on Vietnam, and we all know how well that went. I learned from someone who flew combat missions there that Kissinger’s micro-management of the missions served to prolong the conflict.
In his column, the 96-year old Stearman offers that “a presidential summit is seldom the right forum for nuclear diplomacy.” Through his involvement in several summit meetings during the Eisenhower administration, he claims “It leads me to believe that serious negotiations can be conducted only by experts on both sides who have the time and knowledge to come to agreements.”
I’m reminded of the “experts” we had negotiating our deal with Iran – Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
Stearman also recalled how President Kennedy was “outrageously browbeaten” during his June 1961 summit with Nikita Krushchev in Vienna.
While President Trump may be new to national security negotiations, it’s clear that he is going in with his eyes wide open.
May God bless the United States of America
