North Korean Summit

Dear Mr. President,

Well, you have gone and done it. You made a third rate dictator look like the reasonable one. You promised a summit, then canceled it while threating to destroy his country.

You and your advisers have been wanting to make North Korea the latest boogie man. Your newest National Security adviser, John Bolton, has been wanting to go to war with North Korea since the days of Bush the Younger.

Did you really think that Kim Jong-un was going to destroy the nuclear weapons that he and his father had spent 30 years and a fortune developing and build? Between wanting a total de-nucleation and the threats of a “Libya Solution,” you thought that North Korea was not going do a little posturing back? Get a clue.

OK, Mr. Dealmaker, time for some more education. First, Country leaderships are not business people. They play by different rules. They are not going to fall for the Cons that you have pulled on other business. They have Intelligent Agencies that check every claim that you are going to make. They have dossiers about you and every person around you. They more about you than you do.

Deals and treaties take a long time to work through because of this. Slow and steady is how the best deals are made. Both sides have to feel that they have gotten something positive out it. You also have to look long term about the effects it will have. Don’t believe me? Look at the results of the Treaty of Versailles.

Now North Korea destroyed their underground nuclear site to the foreign press. Was it really their test site? Only nuclear physicists will know for sure. But this was part of a good faith gesture before the summit. And yet you canceled it a couple of hour after that.

Why, Mr. President? Multiple news reports state that you did it, so that you could cancel before the North Koreans. Was this to create the headlines and control the story? Well, it didn’t work. The headlines were negative and made yourself look petty and small.

With the sudden cancelation, you caught our allies and friends flat footed. Heck even the people in your own government had to scrabble. You letter to North Korea look like a break up letter written by a High School girl. Here is some advice, Mr. President. Let the professionals do the writing.

Now you claim that the Summit can still happen for June 12. How? Your advance teams are just now heading to Singapore to scout locations to hold the meeting. This should have been done months ago. There have been no advance team meetings with North Korea to deal with the details. Protocol processes will need to be understood so as not to insult the other side. What are your goals? Total de-nucleation will take years and require serious concession from you. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to look like you are giving in? Your base isn’t going to like that.

Here is my final bit of advice. If you are serious about this, let your people do their jobs. Stop trying to micro-manage everything. This not your little business. Let the experts be the experts. Or you could come home with nothing looking like you got played.

Signed,

An Informed Citizen