http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/politics/north-korea-officials-mash-up/index.html
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said the United States has to act as if North Korea is on the verge of being able to strike it with a missile and act accordingly — and that President Donald Trump is ready to do so.
“From a US policy perspective, we ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving that objective,” Pompeo said Thursday at a security forum held by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They are so far along in that, it’s now a matter of thinking about how do you stop the final step.”
“Whether it happens on Tuesday or a month from Tuesday, we’re in a time where the President has concluded that we have a global effort to ensure that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un does not obtain that capacity,” Pompeo continued.
Pompeo is among a number of former officials who have been signaling the increased possibility of a slide into military confrontation with North Korea over its refusal to back down from its nuclear program.
Brennan sketched out a scenario in which, “some kind of
limited military engagement that would result in some deaths,
that could then quickly trigger some retaliatory strikes that
could escalate.” On top of that “conventional scenario of
escalation,” he reminded the crowd that North Korea has
finely honed cyber capabilities.
“So I think we have to be mindful here that there are a
number of scenarios here that could lead to an escalation that
we really need to be trying to avoid,” Brennan said. Trump
isn’t helping on that score, he said.
“You have two leaders of the two major protagonist countries
that are hurling these broadsides back and forth, and they
have a lot of personal political face involved in it,” he said.
“I don’t agree that the tack that Mr. Trump has taken is a
constructive and productive one,” Brennan said, calling the
references to “Rocket Man” and other insults “irresponsible.”
McMaster praised Trump’s handling of the crisis, saying that
the President’s leadership had created the possibility of an
“unprecedented level of international cooperation on the
issue.”
He also praised Tillerson’s eorts
to increase international
pressure on North Korea, which has moved some countries to
cut diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, expel its
ambassadors and in some cases, ban North Korean guest
workers. North Korea, meanwhile, has said it won’t be willing
to talk to the US until it ensures it has missile and nuclear
capabilities.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report
limited military engagement that would result in some deaths,
that could then quickly trigger some retaliatory strikes that
could escalate.” On top of that “conventional scenario of
escalation,” he reminded the crowd that North Korea has
finely honed cyber capabilities.
“So I think we have to be mindful here that there are a
number of scenarios here that could lead to an escalation that
we really need to be trying to avoid,” Brennan said. Trump
isn’t helping on that score, he said.
“You have two leaders of the two major protagonist countries
that are hurling these broadsides back and forth, and they
have a lot of personal political face involved in it,” he said.
“I don’t agree that the tack that Mr. Trump has taken is a
constructive and productive one,” Brennan said, calling the
references to “Rocket Man” and other insults “irresponsible.”
McMaster praised Trump’s handling of the crisis, saying that
the President’s leadership had created the possibility of an
“unprecedented level of international cooperation on the
issue.”
He also praised Tillerson’s eorts
to increase international
pressure on North Korea, which has moved some countries to
cut diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, expel its
ambassadors and in some cases, ban North Korean guest
workers. North Korea, meanwhile, has said it won’t be willing
to talk to the US until it ensures it has missile and nuclear
capabilities.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report