Give Donald Trump The Nobel Peace Prize
No this isn’t a satire. It’s called putting things in their right perspective. So they gave a Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Yes, the same Barack Obama whose administration apparently knew back in 2013 that North Korea could build miniaturized ICBM missiles and didn’t do anything about it.
Past U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama all knew North Korea was developing its nuclear capability and did nothing about it. They all implemented diplomatic tactics: Framework Agreement, “Six Party Talks” and made commitments worth billions of dollars in energy assistance.
They sent envoys. Wrote personalized letters.
All for one thing: For North Korea to denuclearize.
So they resorted to United Nations backed economic sanctions. But who follows sanctions when countries like Russia, China and Japan still did business with North Korea? Who was keeping everyone honest? Who was keeping score?
No one. Albeit a brief moment in 2012 when Kim Jong Un offered to stop nuclear testing in exchange for food aid.
But Kim Jong Un never abandoned the nuclear development program.
In 2016, the United States elected its 45th President. The most unpolitical politician in history. Donald Trump was not a fan of diplomacy. He said what he had to say to get things done.
People branded him a “war monger” for calling for a re-start in the nuclear arms race. He refused to acknowledge NATO’s mutual defense treaty. Trump believed the United States let its defences down while other countries shored up theirs.
So he proposed withdrawing military commitments to South Korea and Japan to encourage these powerful nations to build their own nuclear armaments because the United States will go back to the drawing board and take care of its own business.
When Kim Jong Un threatened, other leaders wilted and proposed “packages” as an appeasement. But Trump never backed down. He stood up to the bully; called him out as “Rocket Man” in front of the United Nations for all the leaders of the world to hear.
Trump alluded to Kim’s threat of having a “red button on his table” as testimony to a psychological disorder by stating “I have a red button on my table… and it’s bigger.”
Trump matched Kim dare-for-dare. His proclamation that he would “totally destroy North Korea” sent collective eye rolls around the world. And while others; even those in his Cabinet advised him to tone down the rhetoric, Trump continued to poke and prod the North Korean beast.
Under Donald Trump, the U.S. made every U.N nation accountable for the sanctions. He pushed China, prodded South Korea and challenged Russia to bring the hammer down on North Korea. No assurances were good enough.
In fact, the constant pressure may have finally pushed South Korean President Moon Jae-In to reach out to Kim Jong Un by using the Winter Olympics as the platform for mutual discussion.
Weeks after the conclusion of the Games, a remarkable development as North Korea has opened its doors to negotiate with the United States to denuclearize pending certain conditions are met.
While the summit between the two Koreas won’t happen until April and the U.S as well as the rest of the world hold their breath, one can’t help but wonder how things would have been if Trump had not been the President.
We know how things would have worked out under Hillary Clinton: more diplomacy through agreements, foreign aid, envoys and personalized letters.
There was a time that the world was at the brink of World War III. Today; 3 months into the New Year, there is a chance for lasting world peace.
Give Donald Trump a Nobel Peace Prize. The man deserves it.
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