VP Pence assures Europe NATO remains an 'unwavering' commitment

Vice President Mike Pence, in his first overseas trip as VP, told the Munich Security Conference where Sen. John McCain previously 'dissed' President Trump, that the U.S. would remain "unwavering" in its commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance. 

Pence assured them that President Trump intends to "stand with Europe" as he tried to calm the anxious European allies who express continued concern about Putin's aggression and their alarm over Trump's positive statements about his Russian counterpart.

"Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in its commitment to our trans-Atlantic allies," he said.

Pence also sought to reassure our international allies who are worried that Trump may pursue isolationist tendencies and added that the U.S. would demand Russia honor a 2015 peace agreement agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus. The deal aims to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.

"Know this," Pence began, "The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which, as you know, President Trump believes can be found."

Pence reinforced the Trump administration's message that NATO members need to spend more on defense. The 28-member countries committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defense within a decade, but only the U.S. and 4 other members of NATO are meeting this standard.

"Failure to meet the commitment erodes the very foundation of our alliance," Pence said. "Let me be clear on this point: The President of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment and, for most, that means the time has come to do more."

After he spoke, Mr. Pence met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She spoke just prior to Pence and stressed the need to maintain international alliances. With Pence seated a mere few meters away, she said that NATO is "in the American interest."

This was in contrast to President Trump's bold statement calling NATO obsolete, according to a Bloomberg report. "It's obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago," Trump said, emphasizing that it was even more than 'many' years ago. "Secondly," he continued, "countries aren't paying what they should" and NATO "didn't deal with terrorism."

The former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq during the Obama administration, James Jeffrey, said that Mr. Pence looked "like an adult. The question is, will Trump listen to him?"

Jeffrey however, sounds like a snowflake.

Pence's visit will include a stop in Brussels on Sunday and Monday. He has also scheduled meetings Saturday with leaders of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He will also be meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko--all countries dealing with the threat of Russian incursion. 

Pence also plans to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and will "talk turkey."

"The vice president has sent reassuring messages through his own engagement but that hasn't been enough to dispel the concerns that you see in many parts of Europe," Jeff Rathke, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies said. "There are such grave challenges that the U.S. and Europe faces that it only heightens the desire for additional clarity from Washington."


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In North Korea, If You Snooze, You Lose

What is the sound of no hand clapping?

North Korea's defense chief, Hyon Yong Chol, must have been tired after a long previous day and he fell asleep during a meeting held by Dennis Rodman's best friend in the whole wide world, Kim Jong Un.

But instead of waking up the sleepyhead, Kim had him put to sleep forever. It didn't help Chol that he answered Kim back for something he said at the meeting.

Anyway, this information was obtained by South Korea's spy agency who reported the execution to the country's lawmakers. How they got this information is not known, but guess what, I find it difficult to believe that a guy who was described by such a great basketball player, who got to know Kim up close and personal, could do such a horrific thing. Oh wait, I forgot--Kim also had his uncle killed for supposedly being a spy so maybe it's true.

The offices of lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min (as opposed to Shin Kyoung-maj) as well as that of Lee Cheol Woo both received similar intelligence from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), so there's a fairly good probability that the information is true.

The NIS didn't reveal to Shin and Lee how they got the information but said that it came from several reliable sources and they believed it to be accurate, Shin said.

North Korea most likely told a fib (using a Dennis Rodman-ish term), claiming that Chol was killed by anti-aircraft fire at a shooting range at Pyongyang's Kang Kon Military Academy (which is not connected to the King Kong Military Movie Academy) in late April.

Hyon Yong Chol, the dead guy, had been named armed forces minister last year and was a vice marshal of the Korean People's Army as of July 2012, but was demoted to a four-star general later that year, possibly due to a bout of severe flatulence at another meeting held by Kim and Dennis.

Last month, spy leaders told lawmakers that Kim executed 15 senior officials accused of challenging his authority. 

Our own State Department spokesman, Jeff Rathke said the U.S. cannot confirm the execution of any North Korean officials, but added that President Obama had just learned of these heinous acts from the media, same as the rest of us folks.

Dennis Rodman was not available for comment.


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