Readers are sceptical of Singapore summit´s potential impact and concerned about future diplomacyAny president of the last 30 odd years could have met the dictator of North Korea, they didn´t because they did not want to legitimise them without concrete commitments to something beneficial. Trump has legitimised Kim, getting nothing in return, apart from a promise to work toward denuclearisation. One just has to look at the agreements Trump makes and breaks to see what that is worth. AntiTThe summit is nothing more than a glorified photo-op, but optics count. These flag-heavy photos will greatly extend the influence and the power of both these men - particularly Trump, who will be credited with having tamed a small but vicious beast. As for Kim, his regime will now be safe, until it isn´t - he can go on oppressing his subjects with apparent impunity, under the ghastly Francis Bacon umbrella of Trump patronage, but the moment he actually gives up his WMDs, the US will crush him like an egg, as it crushed Gaddafi, and install some corrupt but tame dictator in his place. This is what has become of diplomacy in the age of Trump, and the most horrible thing is that it seems, at least for the time being, to work. MrDaydreamAnyone else feel slightly uneasy as if this is a modern day Munich Conference moment where both leaders can go home and claim `peace in our time` before ending up going to war because the other side wasn´t playing by the rules they´d agreed on? Rather than a peace conference, this could well be the prelude to war that neither side will win. HippaferalkusSo sad to see Trump the POTUS showing more affection and genuine handshake to North Korea than to his own allies like Canada and Germany. Have now lost all respect for the man. I shudder for all our democracies when the so called leader of the free world shows more love for a dictator. ShaneinQLDI have to say I´m a bit concerned by the at times almost Pavlovian impulse of `wow this is so great, we´re ...
|
