Two-and-a-half years ago Donald Trump, then a candidate, revealed his super secret strategy for dealing with North Korean nuclear weapons. When asked “what would you do?”:
•Senator Ted Cruz: Blame Clinton, then load up South Korea and Japan with proactive nuclear weapons.
•Senator Marco Rubio: Blame Obama, then prepare for war via South Korea and Japan.
•Governor John Kasich: Tell Japan to strike the DPRK.
•Governor Jeb Bush: Launch a pre-emptive strike against Kim Jong-un, now.
•Businessman Donald Trump: Punch China in the nose.
Watch:
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Guess which approach worked?
“Complicated business folks… Complicated business”
President Trump delivers a 2018 Memorial Day speech during the official memorial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Transcript Added:
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THE PRESIDENT: General Dunford, Joint Chiefs, members of the Armed Forces, members of the Cabinet, members of Congress, and distinguished guests: Thank you for joining us on this solemn day of remembrance. We are gathered here on the sacred soil of Arlington National Cemetery to honor the lives and deeds of Americas greatest heroes: the men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom. Today, we pay tribute to their service, we mourn alongside their families, and we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice.
The heroes who rest in these hallowed fields — in the cemeteries, battlefields, and burial grounds near and far — are drawn from the full tapestry of American life. They came from every generation, from towering cities and windswept prairies, from privilege and from poverty. They were generals and privates, captains and corporals, of every race, color, and of every creed. But they were all brothers and sisters in arms. And they were all united then, as they are united now forever, by their undying love of our great country. (Applause.)
Theirs was a love more deep and more pure than most will ever know. It was a love that willed them up mountains, through deserts, across oceans, and into enemy camps and unknown dangers. They marched into hell so that America could know the blessings of peace. They died so that freedom could live.
Americas legacy of service is exemplified by a World War II veteran who joins us today — Senator Bob Dole. (Applause.) Earlier this year, I was fortunate to present a very special award to Bob — the Congressional Gold Medal. (Applause.) Bob, thank you for honoring us with your presence, and thank you for your lifetime of service to our nation.
Today, we remember your fallen comrades who never returned home from that great struggle for freedom.
We are also proud to be in the company of another American hero — Navy veteran Ray Chavez. (Applause.) At 106 years of age — (applause) — and he was in the Oval Office two days ago, and he doesnt look a day over 60 — (laughter) — he’s the oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Applause.) What a guy. And, Ray, you are truly an inspiration to all who are here today and all of our great country. Thank you, Ray, for being with us. Thank you. (Applause.)
Most importantly, we’re joined today by the families of the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. We cannot imagine the depth of emotion that this day brings each year — the grief renewed, the memories re-lived, those last beautiful moments together cherished and always remembered. And you also feel that incredible pride — a pride shared by one really and truly grateful nation. (Applause.)
To every parent who weeps for a child, to every child who mourns for a parent, and to every husband or wife whose heart has been torn in two: Today we ask God to comfort your pain, to ease your sorrow, and to wipe away your tears. This is a very special day. And today, our whole country thanks you, embraces you, and pledges to you: We will never forget our heroes. (Applause.)
Joining us today is the family of Marine Lieutenant Colonel David Greene, who rests here at Arlington. (Applause.) Dave grew up in Upstate New York, dreaming of attending the United States Naval Academy. In 1982, that dream came true. Soon another dream came true when Dave met his eternal soulmate, Sarah, who is here with their two beautiful children, Jena and Wesley. (Applause.) He’s looking down on you right now. You know that, right? He’s looking down on you, and he’s so proud and happy.
After 10 years of service as a Marine helicopter pilot, Dave left active duty to spend more time with the people who truly filled his heart. Those are the people you just met. But Sarah knew the man she married — she knew he couldnt live without serving. Couldnt do it. So she suggested he join the services in the form of reserves, and thats what he did.
In January 2004, Dave deployed to Iraq. That summer, just a few weeks before he was scheduled to return home, he was called in to provide air support for ground troops who were in very serious danger. They were in very serious trouble. He immediately raced to the scene. As he covered his troops, he was shot by ground fire, giving up his life for his comrades and his country.
Lieutenant Colonel Greene remains one of the highest-ranking Marines to have been killed in Iraq since 2003. But for him, it was never about rank or title. Like all of his fellow warriors, it was only about duty. He served to defend our flag and our freedom.
And now his son Wesley, who is a senior at Liberty University, plans to follow in his fathers footsteps and join the military. (Applause.) Wesley, I just want to congratulate you and your entire family. Great, great family. Thank you very much, and thank you for being here with us. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Beautiful. You’re going to love the military. These are incredible people.
We’re also honored to have with us today the family of Army Captain Mark Stubenhofer, and his wife Patty, and their children, Lauren, Justin, and Hope. (Applause.) Please. Thank you for being with us. Thank you very much. Such an honor.
Mark grew up not far from here, in Springfield, Virginia. Every year, he visited these grounds and hoped to someday serve here as a member of that very, very famous Old Guard.
In 2004, Mark deployed to Iraq for the second time. While he was there, Patty went into labor with their third child, and Mark was with her by phone when their beautiful baby girl was born. Together, they named her Hope.
Just a few months later, Mark was on a mission near Baghdad when he was tragically slain by a snipers bullet.
Today, Hope is 13 years old. Although she never had the chance to meet her great father, she can feel his love wrapped around her every single day. And when Patty puts her children to bed, and kisses them goodnight, she can see Marks legacy beaming back at her through their bright and glowing eyes. Thank you so much. (Applause.) Really beautiful. Thank you. You know that, right?
Also joining us today is a very special friend: Seven-year-old Christian Jacobs, who is here with his mom Brittany.
I met Christian exactly one year ago today. Last year, after the wreath-laying ceremony, Christian walked over to me with great confidence, shook my hand, looked me straight in the eye, and asked if I would like to meet his dad. He loved his dad — Marine Sergeant Christopher Jacobs, who died when Christian was just eight months old.
Next, Christian, looking as sharp as you could look dressed in a beautiful Marine outfit — I’ve never seen a Marine look that good in my life, Christian. (Applause.) He wanted to look good, he told me, as a tribute to his father. And he led me to his dad’s grave, and we paid our respects together. It was a moment I will always remember.
Christian, I want you to know that even though your father has left this world — he’s left it for the next — but he’s not gone. He’ll never be gone. Your dads love, courage, and strength live in you, Christian. And as you grow bigger and stronger, just like him, so too does your fathers incredible legacy. So thank you both. That’s so beautiful. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, Christian. Good to see you. He’s become my friend, I will tell you. Special young man.
To every family member of the fallen, I want you to know that the legacy of those you lost does not fade with time, but grows only more powerful. Their legacy does not, like a voice in the distance, become a faint echo. But, instead, their legacy grows deeper, spreading further, touching more lives, reaching down through time and out across many generations. Through their sacrifice, your loved ones have achieved something very, very special: immortality.
Today we also remember the more than 82,000 American servicemen and women who remain missing from wars and conflicts fought over the past century. We will never stop searching for them. (Applause.) And whenever possible, we will bring them home. We pledge to remember not just on Memorial Day. We will always remember them. We will remember them every day.
Moments ago, I laid a wreath in tribute to those resting in honored glory. For more than 80 years, the Sentinels of the Old Guard have kept watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Serving in this elite unit is among the most prestigious honors in the United States military. While the rest of us sleep, while we go about our lives, through every minute, through every day, through freezing cold, scorching heat, and raging storms, they stand watch.
Even when the Earth shook beneath their feet on 9/11, and smoke from the Pentagon darkened the sky above these tree-lined hills, here they remained, faithful at their post, eternal on guard. They never moved.
The Sentinel always stands, because America never forgets its our heroes who make us who we are and who determine what we will be. (Applause.)
Our fallen heroes have not only written our history — theyve shaped our destiny. They saved the lives of the men and women with whom they served. They cared for their families more than anything in the world. They love their families. They inspired their communities, uplifted their country, and provided the best example of courage, virtue, and valor the world will ever know. They fought and bled and died so that America would forever remain safe and strong and free.
Each of the markers on that field — each of the names engraved in stone — teach us what it means to be loyal and faithful and proud and brave and righteous and true.
That is why we come to this most sacred place. That is why we guard these grounds with absolute devotion. That is why we always will remember. Because here — on this soil, on these grounds, beneath those fields — lies the true source of American greatness, of American glory, and of American freedom.
As long as we are blessed with patriots such as these, we shall forever remain one people, one family, and one nation under God. (Applause.)
It’s been my great honor to be with you today. I want to thank you. May God bless the families of the fallen. May God bless the men and women who serve. And may God bless the United States of America — our great country. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
Today all across this great land we call America, we pause to remember those who have fallen. We give thanks for their final sacrifice, for their love of country, and we say prayers for them, for their families, for the country they serve. We fly flags to honor their service, to observe our own dedication to America. But, being the ever optimistic Americans we are, we have turned this day formerly known as Decoration Day into a nation wide party, a celebration of patriotism, family, summer’s promise, and just any old other thing we choose it to be.
Tracking the origins of Memorial Day proves to be a somewhat difficult task. Some attribute it to former African slaves paying tribute to fallen Union soldiers. There is strong evidence that women of the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. On May 30, 1868, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetary. By 1890 all the northern states were observing the day. The South would not observe the same date until after World War I, when it became more than an observance recognizing those fallen in the Civil War.
So, it took another war to unite Americans in remembrance of those fallen heroes. Stubborn aren’t we? Here in the South, I grew up visiting the cemetary on birthdays, holidays, and whenever my mother felt a need to connect with those gone from her – but never forgotten. Each visit to the cemetary (my mother never let us call it a graveyard) was a fascinating experience to me as a child.
Always walk around the plots, never step on one. Wander away as my mother knelt in the grass coaxed lovingly into growth in the red Georgia clay. Look first for relatives, those my mother spoke of, and those strange names I was unfamiliar with. Look for the little stone with the lamb on top – the resting place of my mother’s baby sister, Carole. Look for more lambs and little angels – they were dotted around the older section with alarming frequency, something I noticed even as a child. Take note of all the flowers.
It was a fine thing for a family to have many who remembered to honor their dead. I also very vividly remember the little American flags stuck in the ground on days such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Not too long ago, I found a small cemetary with a mass grave of Confederate soldiers who mostly died of an outbreak, possibly flu, during the war. Those little flags had been put in the ground around the few individual markers. I wondered if they minded that 50 star flag, or if they were grateful to be remembered, honored, prayed over.
It was something I lived with as a child, this presence of the dead. I never thought much about it until recently. Here you literally cannot stray far outside your own yard without encountering some reminder of the war fought on this soil, and those fallen. As a child, many of our parents remembered grandparents who fought in the war. It is alive for us, and so has colored how we honor our dead, those who have fallen in battle, and those who in the words of many a fire and brimstone preacher, “The LORD has called home to be with HIM.” Believe me, no disrespect intended, just an indication of a little local flavor.
And so, I find myself wondering. Is this a southern thing? Is it an American thing? Or is it something common to all of us, this need to return to the place we left our loved ones for the final time on this earth? Is it a regional custom, tied deep in the roots we are so tangled in, or a need born with our souls? I think it must be the latter, with a twist of regional observances that may vary from place to place, but sooth the heart of those who wait here, on this side. Perhaps, after all is said and done, it meets our needs more than just paying respect to the dead. We wander there, among those peaceful plots, wondering, imagining, where are they? How is it there? When will my time come? Will I be with them again? Then, that most human of all questions. Who will honor me in my time, when I lay beneath the grass coaxed lovingly into growth in the red Georgia clay?
I hope you enjoyed the video of my hometown. I couldn’t be more proud to live in a place like this little town. We Remember, we honor, we celebrate.
Interesting dynamics at play. President Trump has announced via Twitter the U.S. advance team has arrived in North Korea to position for a possible June 12th summit between President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.
(link)
Yesterday South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un held an impromptu summit/meeting in the DPRK to display their unified smiles.
The influence agent, Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping, has been unusually quiet since President Trump asserted that Chairman Xi was the agent provocateur behind Kim Jong-un’s diplomatic bi-polarism. Apparently, Chairman Xi did not anticipate President Trump being so public with the sunlight; and there’s no way Xi anticipated the economic consequences POTUS Trump outlined in the 232 Auto-Sector review.
It’s a smart strategy for Team USA to engage with Team Rocketman while a Chinese trade visit from U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross looms on the Beijing calendar, June 2nd. Given the tenuously adversarial position Chairman Xi has boxed himself into, the dragon would be unwise to stir the pot until after Secretary Ross delivers his trade terms.
Chairman Xi has only one way out of the current box. However, if Xi were to move Kim into an aggressive proxy position too soon, like now, Secretary Ross would likely unload on the economic consequences come June 2nd. Rut roh,… dragon thrashing amid panda box.
China has recently violated the terms of the August 2017 U.N. economic sanctions against North Korea. Economic Panda is naked to his enemies. The consequences outlined and enhanced by the U.S. in support of those U.N. sanctions was a threat to cut off any violating country from the U.S. banking system and economic engagement therein.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Ross and POTUS Trump didn’t respond to the recent China/DPRK violations because Rocketman was moving in the right direction. However, the economic consequences now loom like a sword of Damocles if Chairman Xi attempts to move Kim Jong-un again.
In the big picture we can see how President Trump has moved Xi away from having influence. Against this strategic success, with Chairman Xi sidelined, President Trump is now in position to be more assertive in his presentations toward a Korean peace process.
Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un can play happy sandwich makers and without knowing it they are quietly protected by the strategy President Trump has constructed.
If Xi attempts to break up the happily dancing Korea brothers, President Trump tells Secretary Ross to cut the horsehair and the sword of Damocles falls on the Chinese economy.
After the sandwich-maker summit the two Korean boys held hands and began skipping in circles around the park while the band played Ode To Joy. So goes the end of the latest chapter in the ongoing komance between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in.
…”Kim said he feels closer to Moon after talking again.”
SEOUL (Reuters) – After a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump keeps his planned meeting with Kim in June, Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported Sunday. (link)
Additionally, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “his fixed will” on a possible June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in a meeting on Saturday with the president of South Korea, North Korea’s state news agency said. During what it called in-depth discussions, Kim and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in agreed to hold high-level talks between their two nations on June 1, news agency KCNA said. (more)
This evening President Trump welcomed home Joshua Holt, a young man who had been imprisoned in Venezuela for nearly two years. Mr. Holt and his family are from Utah. The family, the State Department team and a group of U.S. politicians who participated in the negotiations for his release, held a short Oval Office press availability.
Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah), Senator Bob Corker (Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee), Senator Mike Lee (Utah), Representative Mia Love (Utah) and a number of key State Department officials were present. Toward the end of the remarks President Trump spoke briefly about the latest discussions surrounding a possible summit with North Korea.
South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in is the Asian version of Barack Obama, and much like North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un essentially irrelevant in this geopolitical confrontation. Take a seat, or make a sandwich…. it matters not.
Behind the fanciful Korean ‘denuclearization talks‘ and lofty ‘peace initiatives‘ a far more consequential geopolitical economic battle is taking place between the worlds largest two economies. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping are engaged.
The Sandwich Maker Summit – (Reuters) – “South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday in an effort to ensure that a high-stakes summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump takes place successfully, South Korean officials said.
[…] Their two hours of talks at the Panmunjom border village came a month after they held the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade at the same venue. At that meeting, they declared they would work toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.
“The two leaders candidly exchanged views about making the North Korea-U.S. summit a successful one and about implementing the Panmunjom Declaration,” South Korea’s presidential spokesman said in a statement. He did not confirm how the meeting was arranged or which side asked for it.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said an advance team of White House and U.S. State Department officials would leave for Singapore on schedule this weekend to prepare for a possible summit there.” (read more)
Sandwich Press
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Chairman Xi made a strategic decision in his adversarial approach toward President Trump. Again, as noted in the briefing by Secretary Pompeo – Panda China is telling Pompeo they too want to see peace, Korean stability and denuclearization. However, Dragon-China is using the panda mask, and simultaneously leveraging Chairman Kim to aid their trade and economic conquest objectives.
However, Beijing made a fatal mistake; Xi exposed too much dragon face -and brought great shame and embarrassment to the Chinese people- he did not expect President Trump to call him out publicly.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross heads to China June 2-4 with •Steel and Aluminum tariffs; •auto-sector 232 evaluations; •intellectual property penalties; •over $150 billion in additional trade sanctions/tariffs pending; •and financial sanctions against Chinese banks as economic arrows in his dragon slaying quiver.
Don’t doubt for a minute, based on Chairman Xi’s mid-May maneuver with Chairman Kim, Wolverine Ross is not about to fire one -or several- of those arrows directly into the heart of Beijing. My guess would be the Steel (25%) and Aluminum (10%) tariffs for China go into effect regardless of the disposition of current trade negotiations.
Chairman Xi Jinping made a strategic mistake. Communist Xi genuinely has no idea the level of hurt President Trump is looking for an excuse to deliver. Xi Jinping showed great disrespect by attempting to embarrass U.S. President Donald Trump over the Singapore summit. Things are fixing to get ‘Old-School’.
Credit to Fox Business for finally admitting the role Xi Jinping played in leveraging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to become more adversarial to the U.S.- North Korean denuclearization talks and summit in Singapore. Perhaps this is the first reality shift for Western media to discuss, with greater accuracy and honesty, the extent of influence held by China over the activity of North Korea. The DPRK is a proxy province of China.
The first U.S. trade delegation visit to China happened May 2-5. Then there was an unexpected second trip by Chairman Kim to Beijing (May 8-9). Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping instructing Chairman Kim to change his approach publicly in order to provide China with leverage in the next U.S./China trade summit which took place shortly thereafter on May 15-18. China is leveraging North Korea for a better trade outcome.
As noted by President Donald Trump during his Oval Office remarks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the specifically scheming and cunning influence by Chairman Xi, what we customarily call ‘Red-Dragon-China‘, was -and is- accepted by President Trump as evidence of Beijing’s manipulative intent.
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
“Complicated business folks… Complicated business”
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