Schizophrenia on North Korea and Venezuela?
They’re both cruel tyrants who have starved and neglected their populations, precipitating humanitarian crises of historic proportions.
They both have engaged in consistent patterns of gross violations of internationally-recognized human rights. They both rely on the loyalty of their militaries to remain in power.
Yet North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro have received very different treatment from the Trump administration.
To the chagrin of many of his own advisors and senior officials, the president has extended an olive branch to North Korea, seeking to build an atmosphere of trust before seeking more tangible gains. The foreign policy establishment, including many leading Democrats, has demanded verifiable progress on denuclearization before rolling back the current policy of maximum pressure and sanctions. Only a few brave experts have conceded that tearing up the old, failed rule-book might be necessary to break the long stalemate. The fact that the second summit ended without agreement should be taken not as proof that diplomacy is hopeless, but as evidence that peace is a process requiring skillful preparation and sustained commitment.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, the United States is pursuing a very different approach: threats, intimidation, and clandestine meetings with coup plotters. Amid life-threatening shortages of food and medicine, government officials use humanitarian aid as a political weapon for regime change. These are the types of tactics favored by national security advisor John Bolton, whose inclination is toward military domination and control rather than diplomacy and cooperation.
Who’s in charge here? President Trump, who campaigned on a promise of bringing troops home? Or John Bolton, who has consistently argued that only military action can accomplish what is required?
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/433667-schizophrenia-on-north-korea-and-venezuela
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