Trump abandons war games on the Korean Peninsula, reverses Asian Pivot

Trump on Monday cited "cost" as the reason for canceling annual joint military exercises with South Korea. He tweeted that he cancelled the war games to save hundreds of millions of US dollars that were never returned.

“I made that decision long ago because it costs the US far too much money to have those ‘games’, especially since we are not reimbursed for the tremendous cost!” he stated.

Trump added that another benefit of cancelling the annual joint springtime military drills was that it reduced tensions with North Korea, which was "a good thing".

“Trump’s decision to cancel annual South Korean-US military war games is a welcome reprieve from the aggressive behavior of previous US administrations. But has Trump truly reneged on the United States’ imperialist agenda in East Asia? If not what explains Trump’s reversal?  His rationale of saving money is so much blather in light of the untold billions he’s spent on increases to his military budget,” Professor Etler said.

“Trump however has shown himself to be an imperialist of a ‘different color.’ He and his handlers are picking and choosing their fights. Why did Trump consent to meet and negotiate with Kim Jong-un in the first place? Simply put, North Korea (the DPRK) had acquired a credible nuclear deterrent and there was nothing the US could do about it short of an all out nuclear holocaust. The DPRK withstood all that Trump could throw at it. Their great victory was remaining steadfast in the face of US attempts to strangle them economically and diplomatically.  As result Trump had a stark choice, either fish (declare war) or cut bait (negotiate and accept the DPRK on equal terms). He made the rational choice and should be praised for doing so,” he said.  

“Trump's original bombast and bluster directed towards North Korea was replaced with fawning acquiescence. He was forced to accept the DPRK's nuclear capacity as a fait accompli. This was a defeat for US imperialism and a clear victory for Kim Jong-un and the DPRK. Of course Trump's domestic opposition has tried to paint him as appeasing a tyrant. That's just par for the course,” he said.

Why Trump opposes Iran nuclear deal
“Trump did the same towards Obama with the Iran nuclear deal. In fact, Trump negotiating with the DPRK is like Obama negotiating with Iran. The opposition to both has been purely partisan in nature. Trump’s opposition to the Iranian deal has moreover been compounded by his subservience to Israeli interests and Zionist and Saudi Arabian financial support,” he noted.

“Trump is also giving up the ghost of his ill-fated trade war with China. The impending trade deal between the US and China will have accomplished next to nothing and will be cosmetic in nature. China will continue its policies of reform and opening up regardless of Trump’s posturing. It will also be much more vigilant towards the US in recommitting itself to becoming more economically and technologically self-reliant,” the analyst said.

Trump trying ‘to buttress his re-election hopes’
“Trump is also seeking to quiet the Eastern Front as a means to buttress his re-election hopes. He will claim that his stance towards both North Korea and China have been great victories for his foreign policy when in fact they are complete reversals of his campaign rhetoric. This should be welcomed and is all for the good. In essence the Clinton/Obama Asian Pivot has been scuttled,” Etler said.

“By abandoning the Asian Pivot, at least for now, Trump and his neo-con foreign policy handlers can concentrate on shoring up US imperialism’s position in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East by targeting Venezuela, Russia and Iran respectively. This will be made easier by claiming a Pyrrhic victory and cease fire on imperialism’s Eastern front so as to concentrate fire on its Western front. Thus, Trump’s retreat in East Asia can be seen as tactical rather than strategic,” he concluded.