Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 24 OcTOber 2017
Long day of diplomacy: In Asia, Trump to warn North

Tillerson visits Afghanistan, Iraq in 1 day Korea but not likely visit DMZ

By MATTHEW LEE the next top Trump aide the government if they are By JONATHAN LEMIRE
ALEX BRANDON to leave an administration ready to come, renounc- Associated Press
Associated Press beset by high-profile de- ing terrorism, renouncing NEW YORK (AP) — For all of President Donald Trump’s
BAGHDAD (AP) — Far from partures. violence and being com- overheated talk about North Korea’s Kim Jung Un and
the Washington murmurs Tillerson slipped out of Doha mitted to a stable prosper- the country’s nuclear program, Trump will likely not make
about his future, U.S. Sec- before dawn. Few outside ous Afghanistan,” Tillerson the customary presidential visit to the heavily fortified bor-
retary of State Rex Tillerson his inner circle were aware said. der between North and South Korea known as the De-
secretly traveled to two of of the plans. Only a few Tillerson outlined the Trump militarized Zone during his 12-day trip to Asia next month.
America’s enduring war journalists were allowed to administration’s new poli- Trump, who will stop in five nations on his first presidential
zones Monday, prodding accompany him and they cy for Afghanistan and its trip to Asia, has derided Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and
threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea if
its leaders do not abandon their nuclear weapons ambi-
tions.
The White House said Monday that Trump was invited by
Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Camp Humphreys,
a military base about 40 miles south of Seoul, and that
time constraints would likely not permit Trump to also trav-
el to the border.
In briefing reporters, the White House played down the
notion that the decision stemmed from security concerns
about a border visit and suggested that plans still could
change.
If Trump doesn’t go, he would be breaking from recent
presidential custom.
All presidents but one since Ronald Reagan have made
the visit to the DMZ, which has separated the North and
South for 64 years. Often wearing bomber-style jackets
and flanked by military officers, presidents have used
binoculars to peer at the barren strip of land at the 38th
parallel and delivered forceful remarks denouncing the
threat posed by the rogue regime.
Vice President Mike Pence visited the DMZ in April and
said his trip let North Koreans “see our resolve in my face.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is greeted as he steps off the plane on his arrival to Baghdad Inter- Trump has not been shy about slamming Kim, whether on
national Airport, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, in Baghdad, Iraq. Twitter or from the rostrum of the United Nations.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool) But his inflammatory language has done little to deter the
leaders in Afghanistan and were prevented from shar- region, which centers on North Korean dictator, who has launched repeated mis-
Iraq to reach out to long- ing any information until defeating extremist organi- sile tests, including some that have flown over Japan. A
time rivals. Tillerson was about to de- zations that might threaten number of the United States’ Asian allies have nervously
Tillerson flew on a C-17 mili- part. He spent about 2½ the United States. The new watched the drama unfold and called for a peaceful
tary transport plane from hours in Afghanistan. strategy incorporates goals resolution.
Qatar into Afghanistan’s His primary message: sup- for Pakistan and India, too, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore stood next to
Bagram Air Base, where he port for a declaration that both of which he’ll visit this Trump in the Rose Garden on Monday and spent much
met President Ashraf Ghani some Taliban leaders could week. Tillerson said the ob- of his remarks praising the United States and the president
and other Afghan leaders. join Afghanistan’s govern- jective is to deny haven to but also delicately advocated for diplomacy.
After returning to Qatar, ment if they renounce vio- terrorists anywhere in South “There is no quick and easy solution,” Lee said. “Pressure
he departed for Baghdad lence and terrorism and Asia.The biggest challenge is necessary but so is dialogue.”
for talks with Prime Minister commit to stability. He also is Pakistan, a country the George H.W. Bush is the only president not to visit the DMZ
Haider al-Abadi for the sec- bluntly warned neighbor- United States has devoted since Reagan toured the border zone in 1983, though he
ond time in as many days. ing Pakistan to step up ac- years and billions of dollars did make his own trip while serving as vice president.
They discussed healing a tion against militant groups toward helping defeat the Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, visited during a
Kurdish fight with the cen- that find haven within its Taliban, al-Qaida and now 2012 trip to Seoul and told troops stationed at the border
tral government, accel- borders.“Clearly, we have even Islamic State fighters that “the contrast between South Korea and North Korea
erating post-Islamic State to continue to fight against and affiliated groups. Tiller- could not be clearer, could not be starker, both in terms
reconstruction projects for the Taliban, against others, son will visit Islamabad on of freedom but also in terms of prosperity.”
Iraq’s liberated towns and in order for them to under- Tuesday and tell Pakistani The dangers posed by Pyongyang will be a central theme
cities, and more. stand they will never win leaders that driving ex- of Trump’s trip, the longest of his presidency and first to
For Tillerson, the journey to a military victory,” Tillerson tremists from their hideouts Asia.
a pair of the world’s most said at Bagram, where he on their territory is impera- In Japan, his first stop in Asia, Trump is slated to meet with
dangerous countries repre- met Ghani, Chief Execu- tive to a good relationship the families of Japanese citizens abducted by the North
sented an escape from a tive Abdullah Abdullah with Washington.“Pakistan Korean regime.
bruising few weeks of po- and other senior Afghan needs to, I think, take a In South Korea, Trump is scheduled to visit a military cem-
litical scrutiny at home. The officials. “And there are, clear-eyed view of the situ- etery and deliver a speech to the national assembly in
former Exxon Mobil CEO we believe, moderate ation that they are con- which he will call on the international community to maxi-
has been on the defensive voices among the Taliban, fronted with in terms of the mize the pressure being placed on Kim, the White House
ever since reports claimed voices that do not want to number of terrorist organi- said.
he called his boss, Presi- continue to fight forever. zations that find safe ha- And in China, which has long provided much of North Ko-
dent Donald Trump, a “mo- They don’t want their chil- ven inside of Pakistan,” he rea’s economic lifeblood, Trump will push Beijing to take
ron” after a contentious dren to fight forever. So we said. “So we want to work further steps to isolate the dictatorship.
national security meeting are looking to engage with closely with Pakistan to Trump also will use the trip to advocate for American
this summer, fueling spec- those voices.” create a more stable and economic interests in the region, including in meetings
ulation that he might be “There’s a place for them in secure Pakistan as well.”q with Chinese President Xi Jinping. q