JE: I appears that most foreigners in these forums have no understanding of the limitations of an American President.

Speaking domestically. Foreign is different. Yes, we do shake our heads in amazement when they believe that the Manager of 1/3 of One Government out of 51 is...

They confuse their Governmental and Political Systems with ours.

Is it not true that most Bills presented to Congress are written by the Executive, i.e. the President or his appointee's.

Unfortunately not, for the most part they are written by third party lobbyists looking for some handout. Now the major bills, omnibus, are written by the party in power. The POTUS can and frequently does suggest the topic of the bill and the desired result, but rarely has any input upon the language. The exception might be defense bills where the Pentagon has a lot of input.

The Trump/Kim meeting will begin to bear fruit by November which will further diminish that Blue Wave into a small ripple.

So you to believe that it is best to keep and evil dictator happy? Because what Trump has said so far seem to suggest that he intends to negotiate with Kim as an equal, seems to even admire him.

Looking at the pictures this week the "evil dictator" seem to be doing a lot of smiling!! Or should we not call him an "evil dictator" any more?

Some people want it both ways.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

And apparently 'some' would prefer a nuclear holocaust over the chance that maybe this time something will be different........it is different, Kim is scared s#!tless.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

.it is different, Kim is scared s#!tless.

We all have our own views, to me he has exactly what he wanted. From what I have read the DPRK is not in a very good financial position and he could never afford to actually have a working fleet of missiles and I believe never intended to.

He went just far enough to prove he could build nuclear weapons, that was all he needed.

Look, in under 12 months he has turned from one of the worlds worst and evil dictators, to smiling and shaking hands with the president of the United States.

He is now a world leader in all senses of the word, and as long as he keeps up the appearance of wanting to play nice he will probably end up getting better trade deals than Europe.

Any agreement with Kim has to include both total nuclear disarmament AND an agreement on human rights, without the latter it will be as Gary has said, an evil dictator happily smiling and waving while rubbing shoulders with the powerful leaders of the world.

Of course it is preferable to the nuclear option, but I suspect that Trump is just looking at the short term fame and adulation,(Nobel peace price??) this situation will need to outlast a mere president.

That deserves a plus one Bernie.

And you are right, he isn't afraid, scared or any other synonym. He knows full well the Pentagon wouldn't start a war with China. There are the binary eyes who think everything happens in isolation. They don't make good leaders because they can't understand complexities and inter-dependencies.

+2 Bernie

+3 for Bernie.

He is now a world leader in all senses of the word, and as long as he keeps up the appearance of wanting to play nice he will probably end up getting better trade deals than Europe.

POV problem. Another inconvenient fact, Kim has always been a 'world leader'. Where he leads is a dark, inhumane, frightening and closed society, but as the ruler of this hell on earth to view him as anything other than a 'world leader' underestimates the power he wields and diminishes his threat in the minds of those making the label. Like refusing to call out ISLAMIC Terrorism for what it is, or using 'undocumented alien' instead of the factual term illegal alien.

Such labels possibly ease the mind of those unwilling to face uncomfortable realities.

That's the elephant in the room, everyone IN THE WORLD has taken the view that by ignoring him he will go away. Until the current President of the United States changed the way the game was played and called Kim's bluff. Both on military and economic fronts Trump faced him down, and then called his bluff again when he offered the meeting.

Conventional thinking achieved absolutely nothing in 65 years, that has possibly changed. To those who claim Kim 'got everything' ignore the fact the only concession made was a SUSPENSION of joint Military exercises with SOKO and Japan. The sanctions are still in place, the threat of immediate retaliation for misdeeds is still on the table.

Only the most superficial thinkers would believe that meeting with Trump 'elevated' Kim's world status, if it elevated his status in their minds they admit that only appearances count, not actual deeds.

Again the Trump difference in a nutshell.....he calls a spade a spade and when need be a shovel.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

More DUST.

Very much so.

Maybe progress?
At least the discussion has progressed beyond monosyllabic grunts...........

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

World leader? Rump isn't. Clinton wasn't. Xi isn't. Kim isn't. António Guterres is by name. Churchill was. Pharaoh was. They are simply not many word leaders. Lots of, head of a country, few have the talent to be more.

Obama wasn't,

I think you're mistaken.

Obama was famous for 'Leading from Behind'.......remember?

He was the one 7,000 yards offshore watching through heavily shielded binoculars...............

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

North Korea 'executes officer who jumped gun on peace on peninsula'
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/28/north-korea-executes-officer-jumped-gun-peace-peninsula/

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Yep Trump won big time in Singapore or so he spins it.

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Anybody surprised?
North Korea may have begun building a new nuclear facility outside Pyongyang, according to Washington Post. The magazine has received the information from US intelligence officers who have seen signs of preparations for the manufacture of long-distance robots.
The data that Washington Post publishes points out that North Korea is in the process of constructing at least one new ballistic robot.
The information comes from people connected with US intelligence authorities and independent experts who claim via satellite images activity at a formerly dismantled nuclear facility called Sanumdong, on the outskirts of the North Korean capital.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-missiles/us-detects-new-activity-at-north-korea-factory-that-built-icbms-source-idUSKBN1KK2KP

No surprise, and there has been no relief from sanctions, and there will be a severe tightening OF THOSE SANCTIONS if this report is confirmed.

I think the next escalation of sanction will involve stopping, boarding and seizure of vessels violating embargoes. This combined with severing banking privileges with countries conspiring with DPRK to avoid the sanctions, will increase the strangulation of the Hermit Kingdom.

Hopefully these increases will bring the rotund one to the realization that only by complying with his stated intentions of 'de-nukeing' will relief be offered.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Eye, Tariffs on China had the desired response didn't they?

Sort of conformation that Trump failed yet again.
North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programmes, violating UN sanctions, a report commissioned by the UN Security Council says.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45067681

The report came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "optimistic" that North Korean denuclearisation could be achieved.
Speaking ahead of a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore, he said: "The work has begun. The process of achieving denuclearisation of the [Korean] peninsula is one that I think we have all known would take some time."
He stressed that it was important to maintain "diplomatic and economic pressure" on North Korea to achieve "the final, fully verified denuclearisation".

ONE MEETING.........and you cry failure...........how many meetings did it take for Reagan to break the Soviet Union?

I don't think your Viking ancestors(or mine) would give up in failure after a single attempt. The problem is China and Russia are still propping up the puppet.

I wonder how Xi and Putin will react when a Chinese or Russian originating shipment to DPRK is seized, the vessel impounded and the crew jailed for violating UN sanctions...........?

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>