FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Democrats in Congress Voice Support for Kim-Trump Summit; Lunatic Leadership Cries Havoc
June 12, 2018 (EIRNS)—Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and 14 other members of the Democratic Progressive Caucus in the House sent a letter to President Trump yesterday, on the eve of his summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un, backing his efforts to resolve the North Korea crisis.
“We are encouraged by your efforts to pursue direct diplomacy with North Korea with the dual goals of resolving the nearly seven-decade-long conflict and achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,”
the 15 wrote.
“[D]iplomacy is the only path to resolve the tensions between our countries.... Accordingly, we stand ready to provide support for potentially historic progress made through diplomacy,”
and will oppose any turn towards military force. (The letter expresses concern over advocates of the “Libya model” and demands of one-shot denuclearization.)
The signers, who include the Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raul Grijalva and Mark Pocan, and First Vice Chair Pramila Jayapal, the outspoken Iraq War veteran Tulsi Gabbard, Barbara Lee, Rick Nolan, Zoe Lofgren, and others, recognize the “broad popular mandate” for this diplomatic approach in both South Korea and the United States.
“At a time when he has engaged in an unprecedented diplomatic effort, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has an 85% approval rating, while recent polls indicate that four out of five Americans support diplomacy with North Korea,”
they acknowledge.
The Wall Street-owned Democratic leadership—Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, et al.—don’t give a hoot for a historic chance for peace which the vast majority of Americans want. Schumer denounced the Trump-Kim statement as “very worrisome,” giving the U.S. only “vague and unverifiable at best” promises, while “what North Korea has gained, however, is tangible and lasting.... We’ve legitimized a brutal dictator who’s starved his own people.” Ditto Pelosi, who expressed outrage that President Trump had treated North Korea with respect and as an equal, accusing President Trump with “raising North Korea to the level of the United States while preserving the regime’s status quo.”
Khanna slammed their mis-leadership this morning, tweeting out his interview with “Democracy Now!” and writing
“@RoKhanna responds to top Democrats criticizing Trump’s handling of negotiations with North Korea: ‘It’s fine to criticize the president. But do we want to encourage the neoconservative view, or do we want to encourage an engagement towards peace?’ ”
For Gabbard, the “#TrumpKimSummit was historic & an important first step,” she said in a tweet today.
