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Trump May Consider Preemptive Strike on North Korea – CIA Director

CIA Boss Gives Latest Indication Trump May Consider Preemptive Strike on North Korea, Daily Beast The spy agency is briefing the president about military options on North Korea, which outside analysts warn could escalate to nuclear war.  SPENCER ACKERMAN, 01.23.18  THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY IS BRIEFING President Donald Trump on the risks and opportunities of a limited attack on North Korea, its director suggested on Tuesday.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo would not discuss the “wisdom of a preemptive strike” on Pyongyang or its nuclear weapons program, he told an audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. But in rare public remarks, Pompeo portrayed North Korea as an urgent priority for the agency, and disclosed aspects of its role in setting back Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program during his first year at Langley……..

A former North Korean spy, Kim Hyon-hui, indicated to NBC News that Trump’s goal of denuclearizing a country that has been a nuclear state for over a decade is not achievable diplomatically: “North Korea won’t give up its nuclear weapons. They’re its lifeline.”……….

Trump has given reason to doubt Pompeo’s statement that he is looking to resolve the Korea nuclear crisis peacefully. In October, he said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was “wasting his time” attempting negotiations with Kim. After Tillerson stated publicly last month that he was willing to talk with North Korea without any precondition, the White House again shut him down. All that followed Trump’s infamous August declaration that North Korean provocations would be “met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”……. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cia-director-mike-pompeo-gives-latest-indication-trump-is-considering-preemptive-strike-on-north-korea

January 26, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war