Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

7 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

8 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
Zakaria: North Korea Summit Was Big Win for China
Randy-Reed-Image
By Randy Reed, Operations Manager
Published 7 years ago on
June 20, 2018

Share

The cancellation of U.S. military exercises with South Korea is one of several troubling outcomes of President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, writes Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria.

“South Korea’s ‘war games’ with the United States are necessary defensive exercises undertaken in the shadow of an aggressive adversary.”
The headline from the summit in Singapore earlier this month, in which Trump described the exercises as “provocative,” should have been “U.S. weakens its 70-year alliance with South Korea,” Zakaria says.

North Korean Threat

“In fact, it is North Korea that provokes and threatens South Korea, as it has done since it first invaded the South in 1950,” he argues. “South Korea’s ‘war games’ with the United States are necessary defensive exercises undertaken in the shadow of an aggressive adversary.”
Zakaria points out that the North is believed to have about 1 million active-duty troops, which is twice the number of South Korean forces. In addition, Kim has an arsenal of up to 60 nuclear bombs and, now, missiles capable of carrying them.
“Even worse, Trump signaled that he would like to end the U.S. troop presence in South Korea,” Zakaria notes. Though the President argues the move would reduce costs, Zakaria disagrees.

Readiness Costs

“Since South Korea covers almost half the costs of U.S. troops stationed there, moving them to, say, Georgia would not be cheaper,” Zakaria notes. The larger cost would be on U.S. readiness should tensions rise, he says.
“Through bitter experience, the United States has found that it is much better to have troops ready, battle-trained and with knowledge of the local geography rather than keeping them all in the United States, only to be sent abroad when trouble breaks out.”

The Long Game

Beyond its advantages to North Korea, the ultimate beneficiary of an American pullback from the Korean peninsula will be the region’s economic and military powerhouse that was not in attendance at the summit, Zakaria says.
“The long game for the United States over the next few decades is how to handle the rise of China. And right now, we are quitting the field.”
You can read Fareed Zakaria’s entire article, This should have been the real headline of the Trump-Kim summit, at The Washington Post.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

UP NEXT

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

7 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

7 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

7 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

7 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

7 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

7 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

7 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

7 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

7 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

8 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

6 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
6 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

6 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
7 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
7 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
7 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend