Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 31 augusT 2017

The Aruba Today Newspaper announces that due to International Press Day, we
will not be in circulation on Saturday, September 2. We will be back on newsstands
everywhere bright and early to serve our readers and advertisers first thing in the
morning, Monday, September 4th, 2017. Until then, Congratulations to all press
members from the Aruba Today Newspaper, Aruba’s ONLY English Newspaper!

Trump sows confusion by rejecting idea of North Korea talks

By MAT PENNINGTON since early 2009. Talks also
Associated Press have been in limbo for
WASHINGTON (AP) — True years. The last formal ne-
to form, President Donald gotiation between Wash-
Trump sowed policy confu- ington and Pyongyang on
sion with a tweet. the nuclear issue occurred
Declaring Wednesday that in 2012.
“talking is not the answer” Eliminating the possibility
on North Korea, Trump’s of new negotiations could
message appeared to limit U.S. options. It also
clash with efforts by his risks increasing the chance
Cabinet members to safe- of military confrontation
guard the possibility of a between nuclear-armed
diplomatic solution as Kim powers. Within hours of
Jong Un’s military races Trump’s tweet, Defense
toward mastering a nucle- Secretary Jim Mattis ap-
ar-tipped missile that can peared to contradict him.
reach America. “We’re never out of diplo-
The president’s morning matic solutions,” Mattis said
tweet came a day after a as he met with his counter-
highly provocative North part from South Korea for
Korean missile test that flew talks on military readiness.
over Japan, a close Ameri- The U.S.-allied government
can ally, potentially en- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks in Mountain View, Calif. Mattis said Wednesday, Aug. 30, supports, in theory, greater
dangering civilians on the 2017, the U.S. remains focused on diplomacy as well as military readiness. Amid the heightened diplomatic outreach to
ground. On Wednesday, tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula, the U.S. and South Korea have been conducting annual Pyongyang. If war were to
Kim called for more weap- military drills. ever break out, millions of
ons launches in the Pacific. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) South Koreans would im-
“The U.S. has been talking How the U.S. plans ad- could potentially strike the and fuel. Criticism of past mediately find themselves
to North Korea, and paying dress the North’s growing U.S. mainland. administrations’ failures to within range of the North’s
them extortion money, for nuclear capabilities is of Trump didn’t spell out what halt North Korea’s march large conventional weap-
25 years. Talking is not the increasing urgency not just he meant by “extortion,” toward nuclear weapons ons arsenal. In Geneva,
answer!” Trump tweeted. in Northeast Asia, but also but he appeared to be has been a recurrent theme Robert Wood, the U.S. am-
The statement raised fresh in the United States. Last referring to the $1.3 billion from Trump. However, his bassador to the Confer-
uncertainty about the month, the isolated, com- the U.S. has provided in aid comment overlooked that ence on Disarmament,
Trump administration’s munist country tested for to North Korea since 1995. fact there’s been virtually sought to explain the presi-
strategy for North Korea. the first time a missile that Most of that has been food no U.S. aid to North Korea dent’s tweet.q

Pentagon: US troop total in Afghanistan larger than reported

By LOLITA C. BALDOR more than the 8,400 that sands more than the Pen-
Associated Press were allowed under the tagon publicly admits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The previous administration’s Chief Pentagon spokes-
Pentagon is poised to have troop cap. woman Dana White said
roughly 15,000 U.S. troops Military officials have long that while the same “prin-
in Afghanistan in the com- quietly acknowledged ciples of transparency”
ing months, as defense of- there were far more forces will apply in Iraq and Syria,
ficials on Wednesday finally in the country than the cap those countries have their
acknowledged the actual allowed, but command- own interests.
number of American forces ers shuffled troops in and There have long been po-
in the country after long out, labeled many “tempo- litical sensitivities within the
camouflaging the total rary,” and used other per- Iraq government about the
in misleading accounting In this Aug. 27, 2017 photo, a U.S. Marine takes part during a sonnel accounting tactics number of American troops
measures and red tape. training session for Afghan army commandos in Shorab military to artificially keep the pub- on the ground, and those
Senior Defense officials for camp in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Despite seemingly lic count low. concerns raise questions
the first time said there are stalemated peace talks between Afghanistan’s government The officials, however, re- about whether the Pen-
about 11,000 U.S. forces and the Taliban, officials familiar with the efforts say the country’s fused to provide similar tagon will be less candid
currently deployed to Af- intelligence chief has exchanges by telephone nearly every details for Iraq and Syria, about force numbers there
ghanistan — thousands day with leaders of the militant group. where there also are thou- to avoid conflicts. q
(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)