Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Friday 18 august 2017
Tillerson, Mattis insist military options remain for North Korea

By MAT PENNINGTON Mattis said, referring to an rea chooses wrongly.” rea said Kim doesn’t imme- Kono called on the North’s
Associated Press abbreviation of the North’s “That is the message the diately plan to fire the mis- traditional ally and main
WASHINGTON (AP) — official name, the Demo- president has wanted to siles. But fears of conflict re- trading partner, China,
America’s diplomatic and cratic People’s Republic send to the leadership of main as the U.S. and South to take actions “to make
defense chiefs sought North Korea change its be-
Thursday to reinforce the havior.”
threat of possible U.S. mili- Bannon’s comments in his
tary action against North interview with The Ameri-
Korea after President Don- can Prospect appeared to
ald Trump’s top strategist call bluff on Trump’s tough
essentially called the com- talk to North Korea last
mander-in-chief’s warnings week.
a bluff. Secretary of State “Until somebody solves the
Rex Tillerson stressed after part of the equation that
security talks with close ally shows me that 10 million
Japan that the U.S. seeks people in Seoul don’t die
a peaceful solution to the in the first 30 minutes from
standoff over North Korea’s conventional weapons, I
nuclear weapons program. don’t know what you’re
But he said a U.S.-led cam- talking about, there’s no
paign of economic pres- military solution here, they
sure and diplomacy needs got us,” Bannon was quot-
to be backed by potential ed as saying. Seoul is the
military consequences. capital of South Korea.
Washington is “prepared Bannon also called for a
militarily” to respond, if nec- tougher U.S. stance on
essary, he said. trade with China, saying
Tillerson spoke after he and the two powers were in an
Defense Secretary Jim Mat- From left, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, “economic war.” He talked
tis held annual security talks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Defense Secretary James Mattis, shake hands “ASEAN style” about purging rivals from
with Japanese Defense at the start of a Security Consultative Committee meeting, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, at the State the Defense and State de-
Minister Itsunori Onodera Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) partments to advance a
and Foreign Minister Taro more hawkish policy.
Kono at the State Depart- of Korea. Mattis said that North Korea,” Tillerson said, Korea next week begin Bannon named the acting
ment. Much of the discus- if North Korea launches a “to remind the regime of military drills that the North top U.S. diplomat for East
sion focused on North Ko- missile toward Japan, the what the consequences views as preparation for in- Asia, Susan Thornton, as
rea, which also poses a U.S. Pacific island of Guam, for them would be if they vasion, and as Washington one official he wanted out.
threat to Japan. the United States or South chose to carry out those seeks to stop the North’s At the start of Thursday’s
Neither Tillerson nor Mat- Korea, “we would take im- threats.” progress toward having a meeting, Tillerson pointedly
tis responded directly to mediate, specific actions Trump last week pledged nuclear-tipped missile that shook the hand of Thornton
strategist Steve Bannon’s to take it down.” to answer North Korean ag- could strike the continental after greeting the Japa-
argument in an interview North Korea’s missile gression with “fire and fury.” United States. nese visitors.
published Wednesday that launches “must stop im- He later tweeted that a mil- Japan, which hosts some State Department officials,
there’s no military solution mediately,” Tillerson said. itary solution was “locked 50,000 American forces, speaking on condition of
to the North Korean threat. Given the magnitude of and loaded,” after leader voiced support for inter- anonymity because they
But both Cabinet members the threat posed by the Kim Jong Un was said to be national efforts to pressure weren’t authorized to com-
sought to rebut the claim. North’s weapons devel- considering a provocative North Korea. The U.N. re- ment publicly, said Tillerson
“In close collaboration with opment, he said any dip- launch of missiles into wa- cently enacted its toughest went out of his way to do
our allies, there are strong lomatic effort “has to be ters near Guam. sanctions yet after Pyong- so to demonstrate his con-
military consequences if backed by a strong military Tensions have since eased yang tested long-range fidence in Thornton, a ca-
DPRK initiates hostilities,” consequence if North Ko- somewhat since North Ko- missiles twice last month. reer diplomat. q

Before Camp David talks, Mattis says Afghan strategy is near

By ROBERT BURNS Trump will confer with his stalemate with the Taliban stabilize the country. Afghanistan poses an ad-
AP National Security Writer national security team Fri- insurgency. Some in the The outlook in Afghanistan ditional challenge with no
WASHINGTON (AP) — Af- day at the Camp David White House have ques- is clouded by the govern- immediate solution. Just
ter months of sometimes presidential retreat in Mary- tioned the wisdom of in- ment’s struggle to halt Tal- this week, a U.S. soldier was
heated internal debate, land, and said the talks “will vesting further resources in iban advances on its own. killed and nearly a dozen
the Trump administration move this toward a deci- the war, which is the lon- In its most recent report, the were wounded in combat
has almost reached a deci- sion.” “We are coming very gest in American history. U.S. Special Inspector Gen- with the IS affiliate.
sion on a new approach for close to a decision, and The administration has said eral for Afghanistan Recon- The U.S. has about 8,400
fighting the 16-year-old war I anticipate it in the very its Afghanistan strategy will struction said the Taliban troops in Afghanistan. Their
in Afghanistan, Defense near future,” he added. be informed by a review of hold sway in almost half primary roles are to train
Secretary Jim Mattis said Months ago the Pentagon its approach to the broad- the country. Government and advise Afghan forces
Thursday. He gave no hint had settled on a plan to er region, including Paki- forces also are battling an and to hunt down and kill
of what the strategy would send approximately 3,800 stan and India. The Taliban Islamic State affiliate that members of al-Qaida and
look like. additional troops to help have long used Pakistan as has carved out a foothold other extremist groups.
In remarks at the State De- strengthen the Afghan a sanctuary, complicating mostly in eastern Afghani- Trump has expressed frus-
partment, Mattis told re- army, which is stuck in what efforts to defeat the insur- stan. Trump has vowed to tration at the prolonged
porters President Donald some call a deteriorating gency in Afghanistan and crush IS, so the affiliate in fighting in Afghanistan.q