Is Trump the #1 Threat To World Security?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Tensions with North Korea are now kicking into overdrive.
Donald Trump is now threatening North Korea with virtual annihilation after the country took a big step forward in its nuclear program.
Is the President of the United States now the number one threat to world security?
According to a blockbuster report in the Washington Post yesterday, U.S. intelligence agencies now believe "North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles."
Donald Trump's response to this news was predictably measured and responsible.
"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 state. And as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before"
So is Donald Trump threatening nuclear holocaust?
And as wild and unstable as Donald Trump seems - should we be more worried about the possibility of a President Mike Pence?
Comments
#2
I think Pence is a radical religious fanatic that is certainly dangerous and a sycophant of major proportion, but not as ignorant as Trump in most regard and less prone to pull the trigger.
It is a pathetic choice, then next in line is Paul Ryan. Isn't it stunning that the Republican party has morphed into such a batch of losers.
#3
america has taken wrong steps in the past and paid the price. lyndon johnson's reversal of kennedy's viet nahm pullout in 1963 is a painful memory for all from that era. the fabricated bush wars in iraq and afghanistan are another mis-step our grandchildren will be paying for. the question is whether the majority of america will find this sabre rattling exercise to keep the republicans and trump in office credible. i fail to see how anyone with a brain could stand for it, especially with our fabled cia waiting in the wings to mission impossible the north korean equivalent of trump out of existence.
#4
What is really rediculous is the inability of this administration to have a clear, coherrant voice, Tillerson says wants to have talks, Trump want to nuke them. You can say good cop, bad cop but do they watch American TV??? No matter what you say about the Obama administration, at least we had sanity.
#5
I lay it at the feet of the people that voted for Trump. Never has such an obviously degenerate, narcissistic, immoral conman been swept into the presidency on such an enthusiastic wave of nationalistic, bigoted fanaticism. When that many people refuse to see the light of day and only see what they want to believe: Trump is what you get!
Fortunately, many are starting to see the light. Hopefully, enough will come to their senses before it's too late. And that includes people that I still call friends.
#6
Thom, why are you playing loose with facts now? Has D.C. Gotten to you? Libya is not Republican politics but Neo Con. Both the Clintons and Obama followed their war mongering selves into Libya, destroyed the country and murdered Qaddafi. Clinton in her famous cackle we came we saw we killed, ha ha ha, bragged about this. You can't blame the Republicans for that. Obama admitted it was a total failure. Libya had free education, free health care, free electricity, etc. and etc. When Qaddafi was born Libya was the poorest country in Africa by any measure. When he died it's people were the most affluent with more riches on the horizon. Turns out in addition to oil, Libya sits on an ocean of water, future gold. He was killed to further Hillarys ambitions. Now Jahadists and the CIA run the country. Her fault, Obama's fault. Admit it.
#7
The US has been seen by the international community as the greatest potential threat for some time now. Think of the US as a storm. Trump is the equivalent of the tornado sirens now being sounded.
What the world community sees is a US hell-bent on suicide. While the Rs have worked all year to build support for a war against China (via Korea at the moment), the Ds have worked just as hard to build support for a war against Russia. This has worked to bring Russia and China together, resolving their many years of conflicts in view of a potential world threat -- us. The American people, meanwhile, seem to be like deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming 18-wheeler.
#8
Look back. Democrats have been a party of war for a very long time. We just sometimes pretend otherwise.
#9
It already is too late. Regardless, Trump was elected by a small portion of the population. In 2016, both candidates were strongly opposed by much of their own voting bases, for many of the same reasons. This is why roughly half of all US voters rejected both, and either voted third party or withheld their votes. (Check official 2016 election results.) In the end, Clinton won the most votes, Trump won the most electoral votes, so that's what we have to deal with.
#10
anyone know what happened on Game of Thrones last week? i'm pretty sure that it was more realistic AND interesting than THESE dragons...
#11
Yes, Trump is horrible....as is the entire succession list. We are definitely in deep do-do. As we invade other countries because their government is 'corrupt' or they are accussed of human rights abuses, we don't look at ourselves. We're guilty of the same things right here in the US and dare to call ourselves "the greatest country on earth". That probably was true for a short time in our history after WWII, but no longer....somehow we have been in military conflict for 93% of the time since 1776. Only 11 of the wars were declared. And the present one isn't declared, either. We're just plain greedy as well as being the 21st century's Roman Empire. I am not optimistic. BTW, I firmly believe WWI, WWII, Viet Nam and the wars in the middle east all involved False Flags. Proud to be an American? Not me.
#12
The creature in the White House was installed there by the 13 richest families in the world, including the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Koch brothers, et al to do nothing but start World War III. That's what they want and they want it in order to devastate the United States and get it to give up its sovereignty so they can gather it up with the rest of the other countries they've conquered and furnished with central banks and call it their New World Order. We must do what we can to stop this crazy nut before he gets us annihilated!
#13
I've long thought that as the walls continue to close in on him, Trump will have a complete break from reality prompting a very ugly ending, one massive in scale. He's a textbook megalomaniac and terrified that the Russian investigation will uncover his shortcomings as a businessman, a failure that thrust him into involvement with Putin's Russian mafia and money laundering...thus my "Crooked Donny." Putin wins, he has destablilized this country "big league."
Oh well, so much for rhetoric, now like many others I half expect to wake up to a world that virtually overnight will never be the same again.... The thing about Trump, something Putin, Kim jong-un, in fact most of the world knows...he's such an easy button to push...no pun intended.
#14
"... for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
larm007 (#11) drilled down to the inconvenient truth.
Trump is made in America, the quintessential product and inevitable outcome of a culture mired in pettiness, selfishness, greed, and violence. We the People deserve him.
Both establishment parties are responsible, but it is the exasperating complacency of the whole citizenry that has wrought this evil empire over the decades, a brutal military-industrial complex smothering the globe with over 800 fixed military bases in over 70 submissive nations, fleecing taxpayers for 600 billion a year in blood money, 54 percent of all federal discretionary spending.
"Force projection" is a euphemism for violence and greed on a scale never before imagined, the worst blight in all of humankind's savage history, devouring everything in its path, including millions upon millions of broken and wasted lives. Less than 4.5 percent of the world's population gobbles up over 25 percent of the world's resources, while half the planet suffers in poverty and disease, with 800 million literally starving to death this very moment. "American exceptionalism" is nothing more than our legacy as the "ugly American."
There is no honor in warfare. Yet, a long-term, steady drumbeat of high-decibel propaganda as well as heavy subliminal messaging has indoctrinated an entire population into believing that the primary patriotic duty, indeed a religious duty, is to feed the beast. We have descended deep into Machiavellian madness and have dragged the world down with us.
Glorified generals wear dazzling displays of medals across their puffed-up chests and wield awesome weapons of death and destruction every chance they get. Slick politicians wear thousand-dollar suits and lie, cheat, and steal to enrich themselves at our expense. Needless to say, the empire's most galling enemies are those few citizens of conscience who dare to speak out and fight back.
"We have met the enemy and he is us."
#15
Trump doesn't push the button all by himself. One would hope the military would, distasteful as the concept would be to our form of government, recognize him as not in possession of his faculties were he to give the order for an unprovoked nuclear first strike, and refuse to let it happen.
Even if he has used the meager resources of his country to build an underground Moonraker complex for himself and his cronies, Kim Jong Un knows that were he to launch a nuclear first strike, he would have to spend the rest of his days in that complex, as vulnerable as anyone else down there to the ensuing savagery when the food and water ran out.
Trump, being all bluster and posturing, should be one of the first to recognize another "leader" who engages mostly in buster and posturing. If he takes Kim seriously because he takes his own posturing seriously, it's 25th Amendment time.
#16
If you want to know the real Trump, ask the women he has assaulted, including the woman who at the age of 13 crossed his path. I still cannot and will not forgive anyone who voted for this self puffed frat boyish animal.
#17
deepspace: You'd think that one of those "glorified generals" would clue Trump in on how bin Laden yanked Bush the Youngers chain....look where that got us. Kim jong-un is pulling the same shhtt on Donny.
#18
Generalissimo Trumpnino chooses "his" generals very carefully, meaning they had better not countermand his pathetic tweets. Besides, this fool is too stupid to be clued in.
What is it about Republican presidents anyway that they are so easily played by their foreign adversaries? Is it really just plain stupidity and nothing more? And their voters are so proud of themselves. Sad.
#19
As an Independent, I view BOTH parties as Compleatly Corrupt now, but here's FACTs
In 1985 I did the diagnostics pkgs for a nuclear driven laser test at Los Alamos Labs that Obsoleted ALL ICBMs> US could Vaporize the Kremlin w/in Seconds of an ICBM launch Reagan did a western short of a high noon showdown w/a Russian holding an AK-47 & Reagan held a shotgun w/a nuclear symbol> He said 2 words "Your Call"> His meeting w/Gorby was held up until we could test the nuclear laser & get data> ended ColdWar
In 1990 I designed an ultra light weight digital IR camera for a missile interceptor in polar orbit w/idea it could track an east-west ICBM trajectory, and change orbit to intercept it
Point is> Our military capability is way beyond what anyone thinks> NoKo is primitive & you'd thik an insane dictator would think twice about being VAPORIZED by himself
#20
Republican Evangelical boobs Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art Nuc-u-lar Military Industrial Complex with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
#21
Both Public & Pubic Enemy No 1 Trump is greatest threat to societies around the globe. All because he is obsessed with his penis size. Like Putin, Donnie will do anything to reassure himself that he has one.... if not the "greatest." Many wars have been prosecuted over that human failing... and now we face another perhaps. especially since Mueller is closing in. It's either launching a "superbowl" sized strike or firing Mueller. And my my how the "Christian Reich" sees him as their "messiah" bringing on a new world order. Side bar: I wonder what Putin thinks of Trump's threat... isn't he obligated to support N Korea via his own support agreement?
#22
AS TS Eliot wrote: This is the way the world ends... not with a bang, but with a whimper... or should that be revised to read "..... but with a whiner" seems fair as little Donnie frets over his penis size. We have come a long way from Clinton's "oral office" to Trump's bathroom where he ponders his penis size in competition with Putin's. Trump is truly "pubic enemy no 1" and if he is successful in getting us in another world war, public enemy no 1.
#23
yeah.. we could vaporize a few million with a nuclear strike.. and besides, they "ain't got Jee-suz like we do."
#24
Perhaps we should not have followed the 1994 Bill Clinton solution to dealing with the North Korean threat, we will give you free stuff if you guys promise not to pursue nuclear weapons. Barney Fife may have taken the wiser approach.
A refresher course for the boreass woman hater.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=49319&st=north+korea&st1
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/19/world/clinton-approves-a-plan-to-give-...
#25
Actually, Barney Fife, AKA George W. Bush made sure that there were no inspectors on the ground in Korea. How smart was that?
I don't expect conservatives to read anything that is not on Fox News or some Nazi/Fascist rightwing news site, but I've included the link below anyway
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/aug/09/viral-image/...
#26
The reason he's the number one threat to the global community is that he's willfully ignorant. He has no intrest in learning anything that doesn't benefit him financially. The American government cannot be run as a business and even if it could it should not be run by a man who has been so financialy irressposible for the majority of his adult life. Kim jung un is a threat that much is true however his threat cannot be nuetralized by essentially eradicating a region of the planet. Cobra Commander er. I mean Trump knows nothing of diplomacy and unfortunatly he's too stubborn to admit that he doesn't or to take the advice of the people who do know because it would further tarnish his already inept presidency
#27
Pres. Trump has sub-zero emotional intelligence and obviously no empathy. He has no ability to put himself in the shoes of the North Koreans or anybody else, including the millions of S. Koreans who live a few miles from the border and would be "collateral damage" to his "fire and fury." Like many bullies he can see advantage and self-enhancement in taking on what he believes is a weak opponent and he also seems to have a morbid fascination with nuclear weapons. What a bad combination of factors for us all!
#28
@#25
I provided no viral images as none were needed. Just Bill Clintons speech to the American public on the matter that he considered resolved.
"Today, after 16 months of intense and difficult negotiations with North Korea, we have completed an agreement that will make the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the world safer. Under the agreement, North Korea has agreed to freeze its existing nuclear program and to accept international inspection of all existing facilities. "
Your bringing GW Bush into it a decade later is comical. Aren't leftie/socialists the party of trust, no inspectors needed. I thought inspections was the job of the leftie loved UN.
#29
FACT: Two PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNHINGED leaders of nuclear armed nations. One in N. Korea, the other in the Oval Office. What could go wrong?
IT'S MUCH WORSE THAN IT LOOKS!
#30
If Clinton considered the matter resolved, then why did he insist on international inspectors? The same inspectors that Bush thought we could do without!
When Bush nixed the Clinton deal, that resulted in the removal of the inspectors.
#31
TRumpel-stilt-skin, the Everlasting Gobstopper.
#32
Is Trump the No.1, threat in the world? No, especially since the Congress has just passed some laws hamstringing the office of the presidency and requiring that any aggressive moves much first be passed through the Congress for approval. Considering the House holds the purse strings, these laws have teeth.
#33
#deepspace: (No. 14) Well said! (One correction, though, it's FIVE thousand dollar suits, and one thousand dollar pairs of shoes.)
#34
ErinRose: Hah! Thanks for the correction. Yeah, inflation marches on. An old saying correlates an ounce of gold to the price of a good suit, no matter what age in history it is purchased; of course, in the circle of power elites, good is never good enough.
Diane: Sorry, ain't buying your rewrite of history.
Although every president has failed to rein in North Korea's nuclear weapon program to one degree or another, at least Bill Clinton's efforts brought the world together in dealing with this paranoid regime and succeeded in slowing their program almost to a halt -- the most successful effort so far. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief. Sure, it was far from perfect, but it was a new beginning that showed real promise in an extremely difficult and complicated relationship that stretches back to WWII -- if the original agreement was allowed to evolve further in holding the regime's feet to the fire.
Then along came the Village Idiot and his "Axis of Evil" speech in 2002, which, along with other idle threats, over-the-top speechifying, and ineffective aggressions, which directly resulted in North Korea breaking off the agreement, kicking out the inspectors, and exiting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It was under the Village Idiot's wise tutelage -- not Bubba's -- that their program shed all constraints and began churning out nuclear bombs as fast as they could.
Though your humor is appreciated, an old sitcom is not the best place to seek advice. Sooo... what exactly, pray tell, would President Diane (shutter) do to "nip it in the bud"??? Enquiring minds want to know.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/timeline-of-the-north-korean-nuclear-threat-w496701
#35
DH (#7): "Think of the US as a storm. Trump is the equivalent of the tornado sirens now being sounded." Spot on! And yes, many Dems have shown that they are every bit as hawkish as their Republican war-mongering counterparts. I have to wonder how many Dems who ultimately condemned the invasion of Iraq have jumped on the 'Russia is our enemy, we'd better do something about it' bandwagon. Seems like a claim that Putin is a thug is reason enough for them to put us on a path to nuclear war with Russia. I see no difference between Dem fearmongering over Russia and Republican fearmongering over Iran. Both countries are regional powers and if there's one thing that the US foreign policy establishment cannot abide it's a regional power that is not fully submissive to the great US of A.
Deepspace (#14): Another criminal aspect of our 'defense' industry is the out of control sale of arms across the world, pushing nations to procure more lethal weaponry to protect themselves against other nations bristling with arms bought from America. We have truly become the monster that the world should fear. And as long as uninformed citizens buy the propaganda that we are somehow in constant danger from nations with a military a fraction the size of ours, this insanity will continue.
#36
ikeberltersen: Yes, when it comes to profiteering from war matériel and the resulting warfare, all other considerations (say, human life) are inconsequential.
#37
@ # 28:
...speaking of ridiculous assumptions. Crawl back into your safe Fux News hidey-hole; the real world obviously overwhelms you.
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Attaboy, Thom! And Yes, Donald Trump is public enemy #1. We don't need to empower a country like North Korea by making inflamatory statements. They wouldn't dare make a first strike on the US. They know it. We know it. The entire world knows it. So what do we have to gain by stooping to this adolescent saber rattling? The worst fears of the voters that refused to vote for either Trump or Clinton are now being realized.