John McCain recently disclosed his opinions on Donald Trump’s management of the military in Afghanistan and his risky comments towards North Korea. On Tuesday, President Trump addressed the crisis going on in North Korea at a meeting in which he was originally discussing opioids. At his golf club in Bedminster, he declared to the public and Kim Jong-un, "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening -- beyond a normal statement. As I said, they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before." John McCain claims that Trumps words will ratchet up the heat for a possible confrontation. " I don't think that's a way you attack an issue and a challenge like this," McCain said. He even went as far as to say that Trump was acting unpresidential compared to past leaders. He noted that most previous presidents wouldn't make a threat unless they were ready to act. The Arizona senator told KTAR,"I don't know what he's saying, and I've long ago given up trying to interpret what he says.” “It's not terrible but it's kind of the classic Trump in that he overstates things." He also expressed that Trump's remarks could push North Korea over the edge and spark a falling out, which could abolish South Korea and be a catastrophic scenario.
This is the full video of Trump's meeting discussing opioids. For his response to the question regarding North Korea, fast forward to 3:09.
While this story can be considered breaking news, the tension between Trump and McCain has been prevalent in past years. During his campaign for president, Donald Trump said that McCain was not a war veteran because he was captured in Vietnam. “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” said Trump. John McCain, a naval aviator in the military, was shot down during the Vietnam War and held prisoner for more than five years in Hanoi. He refused early release even after being repeatedly beaten. Trump has continued to lash out at McCain on Twitter. For example, Trump tweeted that McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham were “looking to start World War III” after the pair criticized his immigration ban, which has since been banned by federal courts. McCain withdrew his support of Trump in October.
On Thursday, John McCain unveiled his own plan for the US military in Afghanistan. He feels it is a step he must take because President Donald Trump's administration isn't coming up with one. His Afghan strategy includes adding more US troops for counter terrorism missions, increasing US airpower to aid Afghan forces, and providing the US military with broader authority to target enemy forces (the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda and ISIS). "We must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan, and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide," McCain said. "We need an integrated civil-military approach to bolster U.S. counterterrorism efforts, strengthen the capability and capacity of the Afghan government and security forces, and intensify diplomatic efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace process in Afghanistan in cooperation with regional partners." His goal is to create secure conditions in Afghanistan that would bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. McCain has criticized Trump and his national security team for failing to come up with a tactic for Afghanistan. The delay was caused due to the White House being torn about what to do. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster wanted to send more US troops to the terror-ridden country, and Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon opposed additional US forces. Defense Secretary James Mattis promised he would give McCain an Afghan strategy by July, but there isn't a public sign showing that such a strategy has materialized. McCain took matters into his own hands, and he considers his plan to be an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
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Please answer at least 2 questions for your response:
- Do you approve how Trump is handling the North Korea situation? Do you agree with John McCain’s philosophy that he is going to far? Why or why not?
- Is President Trump provoking tensions between Korea and the US?
- Do you think President Trump should have consulted his advisers before he answered the question regarding North Korea at the opioid conference? In your opinion, was his response appropriate?
- Do you think it was inappropriate for Mr. McCain to speak his thoughts about the president in an argumentative light? Did he share his thoughts to try and stop Trump from making another “threat”? Did he want to make him look bad because of what he said to him years ago about not being a war hero? What are your thoughts?
- Do you agree with John McCain’s plan for Afghanistan? If you were in the White House, would you appreciate him taking matters into his own hands?
- If you were part of the National Security team in the White House, would you choose to send more troops to Afghanistan or would you withdraw troops from the area?
I do approve of the way Trump is handling North Korea. This approach is very bold and shows that Trump is not afraid to take action if North Korea were to take action. I do not agree with John McCain’s philosophy that he is going to far because making a statement like this proves that the U.S. will take action if necessary. However even though Trump is being very bold, I do not feel he is being provocative. He is simply trying to show that we will defend ourselves if North Korea does take action. He is trying to stop this possibility of an attack by showing there will be consequences if they do take action. However, even though I do agree with the comment made, I do think President Trump should have consulted his advisers before he answered the question regarding North Korea at the opioid conference. When you plan to have such a bold statement made, you definitely should consider it with your advisers first.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike, great response but I am sorry to say that I strongly disagree. I do not approve of the way Trump is handling the North Korea situation which leads me to also agree on McCain's philosophy that Trump went too far. Mike, you said that this statement was very bold and shows Trump is not afraid to take action; but does it really? Haven't we all seen this before? By "this" I mean Trump and his alleged statements. He gives out threats, promises and statements like these that he will not or has not delivered on. McCain made a statement saying that, "most previous presidents wouldn't make a threat unless they were ready to act" (above information). Trump is being bold and risky. If he believes that these threats will scare away the Koreans he has another coming. More than likely it will make them come faster and Trump nor our country is ready, because instead of preparing for the attack he sits and makes irrelvant threats as if that will solve the problem. Moving on, of course Trump should have consulted his advisors before making these comments. This is a dangerous topic that cannot be decided on by a one soul person. These issues must be discussed, not thrown around aimlessly. It was even stated that the Arizona senator has "...given up [long ago] trying to interpret what he says." In my own opinion, his response was inappropriate, rash and impulsive. Over the summer, after reading event after event of Trump, when is the line drawn? When will the citizens of America realize the danger Trump is putting us in and step up? I guess we will all just have to wait and see.
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